Remote load control device capable of orientation detection

ABSTRACT

A remote control device is provided that is configured for use in a load control system that includes one or more electrical loads. The remote control device includes a mounting structure and a control unit, and the control unit is configured to be attached to the mounting structure in a plurality of different orientations. The control unit includes a user interface, an orientation sensing circuit, and a communication circuit. The control unit is configured to determine an orientation of the control unit via the orientation sensing circuit. The control unit is also configured to translate a user input from the user interface into control data to control an electrical load of the load control system based on the orientation of the control unit and/or provide a visual indication of an amount of power delivered to the electrical load based on the orientation of the control unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Provisional U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/312,863, filed Mar. 24, 2016, Provisional U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/345,222, filed Jun. 3, 2016, Provisional U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/345,449, filed Jun. 3, 2016, Provisional U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/345,464, filed Jun. 3, 2016, Provisional U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/356,007, filed Jun. 29, 2016, Provisional U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/356,179, filed Jun. 29, 2016, Provisional U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/356,288, filed Jun. 29, 2016, and Provisional U.S.Patent Application No. 62/411,223, filed Oct. 21, 2016, the disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

A load control system may include one or more electrical loads that auser may wish to control via a single load control device. Theseelectrical loads may include, for example, lighting loads, HVAC units,motorized window treatment or projection screens, humidity controlunits, audio systems or amplifiers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices,and/or the like.

During the installation of typical load control systems, standardmechanical switches, such as traditional toggle switches or decoratorpaddle switches, may be replaced by more advanced load control devices.However, such an installation procedure typically requires that theexisting mechanical switch be disconnected from the electrical wiringand removed from a wallbox in which it is mounted, and that the loadcontrol device then be connected to the electrical wiring and installedin the wallbox. An average consumer may not feel comfortable performingthe electrical wiring required in such an installation. Accordingly,such a procedure may typically be performed by an electrical contractoror other skilled installer, but hiring an electrical contractor may becost prohibitive to the average consumer.

Moreover, in some installations, the standard mechanical switches may bekept in place (or not part of the system at all) and supplemented withone or more remote control devices that are installed and incorporatedinto the load control system. The remote control devices may be mountedto different structures and in a variety of different orientations,which for example, may be unknown to the device prior to installation.For example, the remote control devices may be mounted over an existingstandard mechanical switch or affixed directly to the surface of thewall, and the orientation of the device may be at least partiallydetermined by the installer. Additionally, the remote control devicesmay be standalone devices, such as tabletop or handle devices that maybe placed or held in a variety of orientations.

SUMMARY

Described herein are control devices (e.g., load control devices, remotecontrol devices, etc.) that are configured for use in a load controlsystem. A remote control device may include a mounting structure (e.g.,an adaptor, a base portion, a tabletop pedestal, etc.) and a controlunit. The control unit configured to be mounted in a plurality oforientations (e.g., attached to the mounting structure in a plurality oforientations, attached to different types of mounting structures, etc.).The control unit may include a rotating portion that is rotatable withrespect to the mounting structure. The control unit is rectangular inshape.

The mounting structure may be configured to be attached to a loadcontrol device that is configured to control an amount of powerdelivered to the electrical load that is electrically connected to theload control device. For example, the mounting structure may beconfigured to be attached to a yoke of the load control device,configured to be attached to a mechanical switch of the load controldevice, and/or configured to be attached a between a bezel portion ofthe load control device and an opening of a faceplate. In someinstances, the remote control device may be a tabletop device or ahandheld device. Further, in some instances, the remote control devicemay be configured to be mounted directed to a wall or into a standardelectrical wallbox.

The control unit may include a user interface (e.g., a symmetric userinterface), an orientation sensing circuit, and a communication circuit(e.g., a wireless communication circuit). The user interface of thecontrol unit comprises a capacitive touch circuit. The control unitconfigured to determine an orientation of the control unit via theorientation sensing circuit, and translate a user input from the userinterface into control data based on the orientation of the controlunit, where the control data configured to control an electrical load ofthe load control system. The control unit is also configured to causethe communication circuit to transmit a control signal comprising thecontrol data. The control data may be configured to control an intensityor a color of a lighting load of the load control system.

The orientation sensing circuit may include a switch that is configuredto be closed (e.g., conductive) when the control unit is in a firstorientation and open (e.g., non-conductive) when the control unit is ina second orientation. The switch may include an electrical contact padand/or a shorting member, a tactile switch and/or a protrusion, agravity switch, a mercury switch, etc. The orientation sensing circuitmay include a ball and a light emitting diode (LED) sensor, aphotosensitive device, an optocoupler that comprises an infra-red (IR)light emitting diode (LED) and a photodiode, an inductive sensor, ahall-effect sensor circuit, a manually operated switch, anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or the like.

The control unit may be configured to automatically determine theorientation of the control unit upon the control unit being attached tothe mounting structure. The control unit may be configured to determinethe orientation of the control unit each time the control unit wakes upfrom an off or sleep state. The control unit may be configured totranslate user inputs that correspond to on and off commands of theelectrical load to respective control data based on the orientation ofthe control unit. Alternatively or additionally, the control unit may beconfigured to translate user inputs that correspond to raise and lowercommands of the electrical load to respective control data based on theorientation of the control unit.

The user interface may be configured to provide, via visual indicatorsof the control unit, a visual indication of an amount of power deliveredto the electrical load based on the orientation of the control unit. Forexample, the user interface may be configured to emit an amount of lightthat corresponds to the amount of power delivered to the electrical loadbased on the orientation of the control unit. Alternatively oradditionally, the user interface comprises a plurality of light emittingdiodes (e.g., arranged as a light bar) that are arranged in a lineararray and that are configured to provide the visual indication based onthe orientation of the control unit. For example, the array of lightemitting diodes may defines a first end of the visual indication thatcorresponds to a high-end amount of power and an opposed second end ofthe visual indication that corresponds to a low-end amount of power. Thecontrol unit may be configured to determine the relative locations ofthe first and second ends of the visual indication based on theorientation of the control unit.

In examples where the LEDs are arranged as a light bar, the light barmay define a starting point of the visual indication that corresponds tolow-end amount of power and an ending point of the visual indicationthat corresponds to a high-end amount of power, and the control unit maybe configured to determine the relative locations of the starting pointand ending point of the visual indication based on the orientation ofthe control unit. In some examples, the starting point and the endingpoint are the same location or adjacent locations on the light bar.Moreover, the starting point and the ending point are located at abottom of the light bar.

The control unit may be configured to receive the orientation during aconfiguration mode of the control unit, for example, when the controlunit is placed into the configuration mode via a unique user input viathe user interface and/or placed into the configuration mode via anexternal device. The remote control device may also be paired with anelectrical load of the load control system during the configurationmode. The control unit may be configured to receive the orientation ofthe control unit from an external device (e.g., smartphone, tablet,etc.) via the communication circuit. The external device may beconfigured to determine the orientation of the control unit using acamera of the external device. In such instances, the control unit maybe configured to illuminate light sources of the control unit in aunique pattern to communicate the orientation of the control unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an example load control system that includes an exampleremote control device.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an example remote control device.

FIG. 2B is an exploded view of the example remote control deviceillustrated in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A is an exploded rear perspective view of a control unit componentof the example remote control device illustrated in FIG. 2B.

FIG. 3B is an exploded front perspective view of the control unitcontrol unit component of the example remote control device illustratedin FIG. 2B.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the control unit componentillustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, in an assembled configuration.

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of an adapter component and thecontrol unit component of the example remote control device illustratedin FIG. 2B.

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of a faceplate component of theexample remote control device illustrated in FIG. 2B.

FIG. 7A is a front view of the example remote control device illustratedin FIG. 2A.

FIG. 7B is a side view of the example remote control device illustratedin FIG. 2A.

FIG. 7C is a top view of the example remote control device illustratedin FIG. 2A.

FIG. 8 is a side section view of the example remote control deviceillustrated in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of another example retrofit remotecontrol device.

FIG. 10 is a front perspective view of the example retrofit remotecontrol device illustrated in FIG. 9, with a control unit of the remotecontrol device removed from a mounting structure of the remote controldevice.

FIGS. 11A-11C show front views of the example remote control unitdepicted in FIG. 9 when a light bar is illuminated to provide a singleindication of the intensity of a lighting load.

FIG. 12 is a front perspective view of the mounting structure of theexample retrofit remote control device illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a rear perspective view of the control unit of the exampleretrofit remote control device illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 14 is a front-facing exploded view of the control unit of theexample retrofit remote control device illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 15 is a rear-facing exploded view of the control unit of theexample retrofit remote control device illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 16 is a front perspective view of the mounting structure of theexample retrofit remote control device illustrated in FIG. 9 comprisinga protrusion and a tactile switch.

FIG. 17 is a rear perspective view of the control unit of the exampleretrofit remote control device illustrated in FIG. 9 comprising aprotrusion and a tactile switch.

FIG. 18 is a front perspective view of the mounting structure of theexample retrofit remote control device illustrated in FIG. 9 comprisinga magnet and hall-effect sensor circuit.

FIG. 19 is a rear perspective view of the control unit of the exampleretrofit remote control device illustrated in FIG. 9 comprising a magnetand hall-effect sensor circuit.

FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of the mounting structure of theexample retrofit remote control device illustrated in FIG. 9 comprisinga photodiode.

FIG. 21 is a rear perspective view of the control unit of the exampleretrofit remote control device illustrated in FIG. 9 comprising aphotodiode.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of another example remote control device.

FIG. 23 is a front view of the example remote control device illustratedin FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a right side view of the example remote control deviceillustrated in FIG. 22.

FIG. 25 is a right side sectional view of the example remote controldevice illustrated in FIG. 22.

FIG. 26 is a front perspective view of the example remote control deviceillustrated in FIG. 22, with the remote control device unmounted from alight switch.

FIG. 27 is a rear perspective view of the example remote control deviceillustrated in FIG. 22, with the remote control device unmounted fromthe light switch.

FIG. 28 is a front view of the example remote control device illustratedin FIG. 22, with the remote control device unmounted from the lightswitch.

FIG. 29 is a right side view of the example remote control deviceillustrated in FIG. 22, with the remote control device unmounted fromthe light switch.

FIG. 30 is a bottom view of the example remote control deviceillustrated in FIG. 22, with the remote control device unmounted fromthe light switch.

FIG. 31 is a rear view of the example remote control device illustratedin FIG. 22, with the remote control device unmounted from the lightswitch.

FIG. 32 is a simplified equivalent schematic diagram of an examplecontrol unit for the example remote control device.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of an example of an orientation detectionprocedure that may be performed by a remote control device.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of an example of an orientation user interfacemapping procedure that may be performed by a remote control device.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of an example of an orientation detectionprocedure that may be performed by a remote control device.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart of an example of an orientation detectionprocedure that may be performed by a remote control device and anexternal device.

FIG. 37A is a right perspective view of an example control device.

FIG. 37B is left perspective view of the example control deviceillustrated in FIG. 37A.

FIG. 37C is a right side view of the example control device illustratedin FIG. 37A.

FIG. 38 is a simplified equivalent schematic diagram of an examplecontrol unit for the example control device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts an example load control system 100. As shown, the loadcontrol system 100 may be configured as a lighting control system thatmay include an electrical load (e.g., such as a controllable lightsource 110), and a remote control device 120 (e.g., such as abattery-powered rotary remote control device). The load control system100 may include a standard, single pole single throw (SPST) maintainedmechanical switch 104 (e.g., a “toggle switch” or a “light switch”). Theswitch 104 may be in place prior to installation of the remote controldevice 120 (e.g., pre-existing in the load control system 100). Theswitch 104 may be electrically coupled (e.g., in series) between analternating current (AC) power source 102 and the controllable lightsource 110. The switch 104 may include a toggle actuator 106 that may beactuated to toggle (e.g., to turn on and/or turn off) the controllablelight source 110. The controllable light source 110 may be electricallycoupled to the AC power source 102 when the switch 104 is closed (e.g.,conductive), and may be disconnected from the AC power source 102 whenthe switch 104 is open (e.g., nonconductive).

The remote control device 120 may include a control unit. The controlunit may include a control circuit, one or more input devices, awireless communication circuit (e.g., a radio frequency (RF)transceiver), memory, a power supply (e.g., a battery), a feedbackmechanism (e.g., one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs), anorientations sensing circuit, etc.

The input devices, such as actuators, a touch sensitive surface (e.g., acapacitive touch circuit response to a capacitive touch surface), arotary knob, etc. The remote control device 120 may be configured toreceive user inputs via the user input devices, and additionally may beconfigured to receive user inputs via external input devices, such as abattery-powered, remote control device 130. Accordingly, the remotecontrol device 120 may be configured to translate the user inputs intocontrol data for controlling one or more electrical loads, such as thecontrollable light source 110. The remote control device 120 may beconfigured to transmit one or more control signals that include thecontrol data for controlling the one or more electrical loads. Forexample, the remote control device 120 may be operable to transmitwireless signals, for example radio frequency (RF) signals 108, to thecontrollable light source 110. The wireless signals may be used tocontrol the one or more characteristics (e.g., intensity, color, etc.)of the controllable light source 110. The controllable light source 110may be associated with the remote control device 120 (e.g., during aconfiguration procedure of the load control system 100) such that thecontrollable light source 110 may be responsive to the RF signals 108transmitted by the remote control device 120. An example of aconfiguration procedure for associating a remote control device with aload control device is described in greater detail in commonly-assignedU.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0111491, published May 15, 2008,entitled “Radio-Frequency Lighting Control System,” the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The control circuit of the remote control device 120 may be configuredto detect point actuations and/or gestures using the touch sensitivecircuit, and generate control data for controlling an electrical load,such as the controllable light source 110, accordingly. A pointactuation, as described herein, may be characterized by a contactapplied at a specific location of a detection surface (e.g., a touchsensitive surface). Examples of point actuations may include a “tap” or“poke” (e.g., a quick touch and release applied at a single point ofdetection), a “press and hold” (e.g., a finger press applied at a singlepoint of detection for a period of time), and a “double tap” (e.g., twotaps applied in quick succession at a single point of detection). A userinput device sensitive to point actuations (e.g., the touch sensitivesurface) may be configured to detect a point actuation and generate anoutput signal indicating the detection. Such a user input device may befurther configured to interpret other types of user inputs as multiple,continuous point actuations. For example, the user input device may beconfigured to detect a finger sliding or dragging across a touchsensitive surface and interpret such a “slide” or “drag” as multiple,continuous point actuations. The user input device may generate multipleoutput signals in response to the “slide” or “drag” (e.g., one outputsignal corresponding to each of the point actuations).

A gesture, as described here, may be distinguishable from a pointactuation in at least a spatial and/or timing aspect. A gesture mayrepresent a motion associated with specific timing characteristics. Auser input device sensitive to gestures may be configured to detect agesture, interpret the gesture as a single action, and generate anoutput signal indicating the detection and/or action. Gestures may becontact based (e.g., effectuated via one or more physical contacts witha detection surface), or non-contact based (e.g., effectuated withoutdirect physical contact with a detection surface).

Contact based gestures, as described herein, may include a “swipe,” a“smack,” a multi-finger “pinch,” a multi-finger “spread” or “open,”and/or the like. A “smack” may be characterized by contacts applied atmultiple locations of a detection surface within a predetermined timewindow (e.g., a narrow time window for detecting simultaneity of thecontacts). Contacts with multiple locations may indicate that multiplefingers, palm of a hand, and/or the like, are involved, and a narrowtime window may indicate that the contacts are brief and simultaneous toindicate a smacking motion. A “swipe” may be characterized byconsecutive contacts with multiple locations within a brief time period.Consecutive contacts with multiple locations may indicate a movement(e.g., by one or more fingers) over the detection surface, and thebrevity of time may indicate that the movement was performed withquickness to indicate a swiping motion. A multi-finger “pinch” may becharacterized by multiple fingers (e.g., two fingers) moving together,and a multi-finger “spread” or “open” may be characterized by multiplefingers (e.g., two fingers) moving apart. It should be noted that theterms used to describe the above gestures may be varied and should notlimit the scope of the disclosure. Gestures may be user-programmable,reprogrammable, and custom gestures. For example, a user may pre-programa control device (e.g., via a mobile app) to recognize additionalgestures such as a “rotate,” a “zig-zag,” and/or a “circling” motion ascommands to control a certain operational aspect of an electrical load.

Non-contact based gestures, as described herein, may include varioushand, arm, or body movements in front of a detection surface. Forexample, the user input unit may be configured to detect, via acapacitive touch element, a finger hovering over a front surface of thecontrol device and interpret such a motion as a command to change astate of the control device or an electrical load controlled by thecontrol device. Such non-contact based gestures may be detected by atouch sensitive device (e.g., a capacitive based touch surface) evenwithout physical contact with the surface, for example, as long as thegestures are within a limited distance from the touch sensitive device(e.g., within 2 cm).

It should be appreciated that the control circuit is not limited tointerpreting signals associated with the above-described examplegestures, and that the control circuit may be configured to interpretsignals associated with more, fewer, or different gestures as desired.The touch sensitive surface may define one linear column (e.g., aone-dimensional column) that may provide a Y-axis output. However, itshould further be appreciated that the remote control device 120 is notso limited. For example, the touch sensitive surface may define, forexample, two, three, or more linear columns that may provide respectiveY-axis outputs, one or more linear rows that provide respective X-axisoutputs, or any combination thereof. The touch sensitive surface mayalso be, for example, a multi-dimensional touch element, such as atwo-dimensional touch element having both X-axis and Y-axis outputs.Such implementations may enable the remote control device 120 to controlmultiple electrical loads from the control unit. For example, gesturesapplied to a first capacitive touch column of the capacitive touchcircuit may cause commands to be issued to a first lighting loadassociated with the first capacitive touch column, gestures applied to asecond capacitive touch column of the capacitive touch circuit may causecommands to be issued to a second lighting load associated with thesecond capacitive touch column, and gestures applied simultaneously toboth the first and second capacitive touch columns may cause a commandto be issued to both the first and second lighting loads.

The control circuit may be configured to associate particular usergestures with predetermined scenes, such as predefined lighting scenesfor example. The control circuit may be configured to enable one or moreof user-programmable, reprogrammable, and custom gestures. Further, thecontrol circuit may be configured to associate particular user gestureswith predetermined scenes, such as predefined lighting scenes forexample.

The controllable light source 110 may include an internal lighting load(not shown), such as, for example, a light-emitting diode (LED) lightengine, a compact fluorescent lamp, an incandescent lamp, a halogenlamp, or other suitable light sources. The controllable light source 110may include a housing 112. The housing 112 may comprise an end portion114 through which light emitted from the lighting load may shine. Thecontrollable light source 110 may include an enclosure 115 configured tohouse one or more electrical components of the controllable light source110 (e.g., such as an integral load control circuit (not shown). The oneor more electrical components may be operable to control the intensityof the lighting load between a low-end intensity (e.g., approximately1%) and a high-end intensity (e.g., approximately 100%). The one or moreelectrical components may be operable to control the color of the lightemitted by the controllable light source 110. For example, when thecontrollable light source 110 is an LED light source, the one or moreelectrical components may be operable to control the color of the LED ina color temperature control mode or a full-color control mode.

The controllable light source 110 may include a wireless communicationcircuit (not shown) housed inside the enclosure 115, such that thecontrollable light source 110 may be operable to receive the RF signals108 transmitted by the remote control device 120, and to control theintensity and/or color of the lighting load in response to the receivedRF signals. The enclosure 115 may be attached to the housing 112 (e.g.,as shown in FIG. 1). The enclosure 115 may be integral with (e.g.,monolithic with) the housing 112, such that the enclosure 115 may definean enclosure portion of the housing 112. The controllable light source110 may include a screw-in base 116 configured to be screwed into astandard Edison socket, such that the controllable light source may becoupled to the AC power source 102. The controllable light source 110may be configured as a downlight (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1) that may beinstalled in a recessed light fixture. The controllable light source 110may not be limited to the illustrated screw-in base 116, and may includeany suitable base (e.g., a bayonet-style base or other suitable baseproviding electrical connections).

The switch 104 may be in place prior to installation of the remotecontrol device 120 (e.g., pre-existing in the load control system 100).The switch 104 may be configured to perform simple tasks such as turningon and/or turning off (e.g., via the toggle actuator 106) thecontrollable light source 110. An example purpose of the remote controldevice 120 may be to allow a user to control additional aspects of thecontrollable light source 110 (e.g., such as light intensity and color).Another example purpose of the remote control device 120 may be toprovide a user with feedback regarding the type and/or outcome of thecontrol exercised by the user. As described herein, both of theforegoing purposes may be fulfilled with limited or no additionalelectrical wiring work.

The remote control device 120 may be configured to be attached to theswitch 104, for example, to the toggle actuator 106 of the switch 104.For example, the remote control device 120 may be attached to the toggleactuator 106 when it is in the on position (e.g., pointing upwards) andwhen the switch 104 is closed and conductive. As shown in FIG. 1, theremote control device 120 may include an actuation portion 122 (e.g., arotating portion) and a base portion 124. The base portion 124 may beconfigured to be mounted over the toggle actuator 106 of the switch 104.The actuation portion 122 may be supported by the base portion 124 andmay be rotatable about the base portion 124. The base portion 124 may beconfigured to maintain the toggle actuator 106 in the on position. Inthis regard, the base portion 124 may be configured such that a user isnot able to inadvertently switch the toggle actuator 106 to the offposition when the remote control device 120 is attached to the switch104. Greater detail of the remote control device 120 will be providedherein, after a brief discussion of other components that may beincluded in the load control system 100.

The load control system 100 may include one or more other devicesconfigured to communicate (e.g., wirelessly communicate) with thecontrollable light source 110. For example, the load control system 100includes the battery-powered, remote control device 130 (e.g., as shownin FIG. 1) for controlling the controllable light source 110. The remotecontrol device 130 may include one or more actuators, for example, an onbutton 132, an off button 134, a raise button 135, a lower button 136,and a preset button 138, as shown in FIG. 1. The remote control device130 may include a wireless communication circuit (not shown) fortransmitting digital messages (e.g., including commands to control thelight source 110) to the controllable light source 110 (e.g., via the RFsignals 108) responsive to actuations of one or more of the buttons 132,134, 135, 136, and 138. The remote control device 130 may be handheld,mounted to a wall, or supported by a pedestal (e.g., a pedestalconfigured to be mounted on a tabletop). Examples of battery-poweredremote controls are described in greater detail in commonly assignedU.S. Pat. No. 8,330,638, issued Dec. 11, 2012, entitled “WirelessBattery Powered Remote Control Having Multiple Mounting Means,” and U.S.Pat. No. 7,573,208, issued Aug. 22, 1009, entitled “Method OfProgramming A Lighting Preset From A Radio-Frequency Remote Control,”the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The load control system 100 may include one or more of a remoteoccupancy sensor or a remote vacancy sensor (not shown) for detectingoccupancy and/or vacancy conditions in a space surrounding the sensors.The occupancy or vacancy sensors may be configured to transmit digitalmessages to the controllable light source 110, for example via the RFsignals 108, in response to detecting occupancy or vacancy conditions.Examples of RF load control systems having occupancy and vacancy sensorsare described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No.7,940,167, issued May 10, 2011, entitled “Battery Powered OccupancySensor,” U.S. Pat. No. 8,009,042, issued Aug. 30, 2011, entitled “RadioFrequency Lighting Control System With Occupancy Sensing,” and U.S. Pat.No. 8,199,010, issued Jun. 12, 2012, entitled “Method And Apparatus ForConfiguring A Wireless Sensor,” the entire disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

The load control system 100 may include a remote daylight sensor (notshown) for measuring a total light intensity in the space around thedaylight sensor. The daylight sensor may be configured to transmitdigital messages, such as a measured light intensity, to thecontrollable light source 110, for example via the RF signals 108, suchthat the controllable light source 110 is operable to control theintensity of the lighting load in response to the measured lightintensity. Examples of RF load control systems having daylight sensorsare described in greater detail in commonly assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/727,956, filed Mar. 19, 2010, entitled “WirelessBattery-Powered Daylight Sensor,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/727,923, filed Mar. 19, 2010, entitled “Method Of Calibrating ADaylight Sensor,” the entire disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

The load control system 100 may include other types of input devices,for example, radiometers, cloudy-day sensors, temperature sensors,humidity sensors, pressure sensors, smoke detectors, carbon monoxidedetectors, air-quality sensors, security sensors, proximity sensors,fixture sensors, partition sensors, keypads, kinetic or solar-poweredremote controls, key fobs, cell phones, smart phones, tablets, personaldigital assistants, personal computers, laptops, time clocks,audio-visual controls, safety devices, power monitoring devices (e.g.,such as power meters, energy meters, utility submeters, utility ratemeters, etc.), central control transmitters, residential, commercial, orindustrial controllers, or any combination of these input devices.

The controllable light source 110 may be associated with a wirelesscontrol device (e.g., the remote control device 120) during aconfiguration procedure of the load control system 100. For example, theassociation may be accomplished by actuating an actuator on thecontrollable light source 110 and then actuating (e.g., pressing andholding) an actuator on the wireless remote control device for apredetermined amount of time (e.g., approximately 10 seconds), and/orfor example, through the use of an external device (e.g., a smartphoneor tablet, a system controller, etc.).

Digital messages transmitted by the remote control device 120 (e.g.,messages directed to the controllable light source 110) may include acommand and identifying information, such as a unique identifier (e.g.,a serial number) associated with the remote control device 120. Afterbeing associated with the remote control device 120, the controllablelight source 110 may be responsive to messages containing the uniqueidentifier of the remote control device 120. The controllable lightsource 110 may be associated with one or more other wireless controldevices of the load control system 100 (e.g., the remote control device130, the occupancy sensor, the vacancy sensor, and/or the daylightsensor), for example using similar association process. Alternatively oradditionally, the controllable light source 100 may be associated with awireless control device via a central controller, through the use of amobile application residing on an external device, such as a smartphoneor tablet, and/or the like.

After a remote control device (e.g., the remote control device 120 orthe remote control device 130) is associated with the controllable lightsource 110, the remote control device may be used to associate thecontrollable light source 110 with the occupancy sensor, the vacancysensor, and/or the daylight sensor (e.g., without actuating the actuator118 of the controllable light source 110). Examples for associating anelectrical load with one or more sensors are described in greater detailin commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/598,529, filedAug. 29, 2012, entitled “Two Part Load Control System Mountable To ASingle Electrical Wallbox,” the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

In an example configuration, the remote control device 120 may bemounted over a toggle actuator of a switch (e.g., the toggle actuator106). In such a configuration, the base portion 124 may function tosecure the toggle actuator 106 from being toggled. For example, the baseportion 124 may be configured to maintain the toggle actuator 106 in anon position, such that a user of the remote control device 120 is notable to mistakenly switch the toggle actuator 106 to the off position(e.g., which may disconnect the controllable light source 110 from theAC power source 102). Maintaining the toggle actuator 106 in the onposition may also prevent the controllable light source 110 from beingcontrolled by one or more remote control devices of the load controlsystem 100 (e.g., the remote control devices 120 and/or 130), which maycause user confusion.

The remote control device 120 may be battery-powered (e.g., not wired inseries electrical connection between the AC power source 102 and thecontrollable light source 110). Since the mechanical switch 104 is keptclosed (e.g., conductive), the controllable light source 110 maycontinue to receive a full AC voltage waveform from the AC power source102 (e.g., the controllable light source 110 does not receive aphase-control voltage that may be created by a standard dimmer switch).Because the controllable light source 110 receives the full AC voltagewaveform, multiple controllable light sources (e.g., more than onecontrollable light sources 110) may be coupled in parallel on a singleelectrical circuit (e.g., coupled to the mechanical switch 104). Themultiple controllable light sources may include light sources ofdifferent types (e.g., incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps, and/or LEDlight sources). The remote control device 120 may be configured tocontrol one or more of the multiple controllable light sources, forexample substantially in unison. In addition, if there are multiplecontrollable light sources coupled in parallel on a single circuit, eachcontrollable light source may be zoned, for example to provideindividual control of each controllable light source. For example, afirst controllable light 110 source may be controlled by the remotecontrol device 120, while a second controllable light source 110 may becontrolled by the remote control device 130.

The remote control device 120 may be part of a larger RF load controlsystem than that depicted in FIG. 1. Examples of RF load control systemsare described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,442, issued onMay 18, 1999, entitled “Method And Apparatus For Controlling AndDetermining The Status Of Electrical Devices From Remote Locations,” andcommonly-assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0206983,published Aug. 20, 2009, entitled “Communication Protocol For A RadioFrequency Load Control System,” the entire disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

While the load control system 100 was described with reference to thesingle-pole system shown in FIG. 1, one or both of the controllablelight source 110 and the remote control device 120 may be implemented ina “three-way” lighting system having two single-pole double-throw (SPDT)mechanical switches (e.g., a “three-way” switch) for controlling asingle electrical load. For example, the system could comprise tworemote control devices 120, with one remote control device 120 connectedto the toggle actuator of each SPDT switch. The toggle actuators of therespective SPDT switches may be positioned such that the SPDT switchesform a complete circuit between the AC source and the electrical loadbefore the remote control devices 120 are installed on the toggleactuators.

The load control system 100 shown in FIG. 1 may provide a retrofitsolution for an existing load control system. The load control system100 may provide energy savings and/or advanced control features, forexample without requiring significant electrical re-wiring and/orwithout requiring the replacement of existing mechanical switches. As anexample, to install and use the load control system 100 of FIG. 1, aconsumer may replace an existing lamp with the controllable light source110, switch the toggle actuator 106 of the mechanical switch 104 to theon position, install (e.g., mount) the remote control device 120 ontothe toggle actuator 106, and associate the remote control device 120with the controllable light source 110, as described herein.

It should be appreciated that the load control system 100 is not limitedto including the controllable light source 110. For example, the loadcontrol system 100 may include a plug-in load control device forcontrolling an external lighting load (e.g., in lieu of the controllablelight source 110). For example, the plug-in load control device may beconfigured to be plugged into a receptacle of a standard electricaloutlet that is electrically connected to an AC power source. The plug-inload control device may have one or more receptacles to which one ormore plug-in electrical loads (e.g., a table lamp or a floor lamp) maybe plugged. The plug-in load control device may be configured to controlthe intensity and/or light color of the lighting loads plugged into thereceptacles of the plug-in load control device. It should further beappreciated that the remote control device 120 is not limited to beingassociated with, and controlling, a single electrical load (e.g., a loadcontrol device, such as a plug-in load control device). For example, theremote control device 120 may be configured to control multiplecontrollable electrical loads (e.g., substantially in unison).

For example, the load control system 100 may include more or fewerlighting loads, other types of lighting loads, and/or other types ofelectrical loads that may be configured to be controlled by the one ormore load control devices (e.g., the remote control device 120, theremote control device 130, and/or the like). For example, the loadcontrol system 100 may include one or more of: a dimming ballast fordriving a gas-discharge lamp; an LED driver for driving an LED lightsource; a dimming circuit for controlling the intensity of a lightingload; a screw-in luminaire including a dimmer circuit and anincandescent or halogen lamp; a screw-in luminaire including a ballastand a compact fluorescent lamp; a screw-in luminaire including an LEDdriver and an LED light source; an electronic switch, controllablecircuit breaker, or other switching device for turning an appliance onand off; a plug-in load control device, controllable electricalreceptacle, or controllable power strip for controlling one or moreplug-in loads; a motor control unit for controlling a motor load, suchas a ceiling fan or an exhaust fan; a drive unit for controlling amotorized window treatment or a projection screen; one or more motorizedinterior and/or exterior shutters; a thermostat for a heating and/orcooling system; a temperature control device for controlling a setpointtemperature of a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC)system; an air conditioner; a compressor; an electric baseboard heatercontroller; a controllable damper; a variable air volume controller; afresh air intake controller; a ventilation controller; one or morehydraulic valves for use in radiators and radiant heating system; ahumidity control unit; a humidifier; a dehumidifier; a water heater; aboiler controller; a pool pump; a refrigerator; a freezer; a televisionand/or computer monitor; a video camera; an audio system or amplifier;an elevator; a power supply; a generator; an electric charger, such asan electric vehicle charger; an alternative energy controller; and/orthe like.

Examples of remote control devices configured to be mounted overexisting switches (e.g., light switches) are described in greater detailin commonly-assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2014/0117871, published May 4, 2016, and U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2015/0371534, published Dec. 24, 2015, both entitled“Battery-Powered Retrofit Remote Control Device,” the entire disclosuresof which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict an example remote control device 200 that may beinstalled in a load control system, such as a lighting control system.The remote control device 200 (e.g., a battery-powered remote controldevice) that may be deployed, for example, as the remote control device120 of the load control system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The load controlsystem may include a mechanical switch 270 that may be in place prior toinstallation of the remote control device 200, for example pre-existingin the load control system. As shown, the mechanical switch 270 may be astandard decorator paddle switch. The load control system may furtherinclude one or more electrical loads, such as lighting loads. Themechanical switch 270 may be coupled in series electrical connectionbetween an alternating current (AC) power source and the one or moreelectrical loads. The mechanical switch 270 may include an actuator 272that may be actuated to turn on and/or turn off, the one or moreelectrical loads. The mechanical switch 270 may include a yoke 274 thatenables mounting of the mechanical switch 270 to a structure. Forexample, the yoke 274 may be fastened to a single-gang wallbox that isinstalled in an opening of a wall.

The remote control device 200 may include an adapter 210, a control unit230, and a faceplate 260. Prior to installation of the remote controldevice 200, a pre-existing faceplate (not shown) may be removed from themechanical switch 270, for instance by removing faceplate screws (notshown) from corresponding faceplate screw holes 276 in the yoke 274. Theadapter 210 and/or faceplate 260 may operate as a mounting structure forthe control unit 230. The adapter 210 may be made of any suitablematerial, such as plastic. The adapter 210 may be configured to beattached to the yoke 274 of the mechanical switch 270. For example, theadapter 210 may be secured to the yoke 274 using fasteners, such asscrews 211 that are received through openings 213 in the adapter 210 andinstalled into the faceplate screw holes 276 in the yoke 274. As shown,the adapter 210 may define an opening 212 that extends therethrough. Theopening 212 may be configured to receive a portion of the mechanicalswitch 270 that may include, for example, the actuator 272 and a frame273 that surrounds a perimeter of the actuator 272. The adapter 210 maydefine a rear surface 214 that is configured to abut a surface of astructure to which the mechanical switch 270 is installed, such as awallboard surface that surrounds a wallbox in which the mechanicalswitch 270 is installed.

The adapter 210 may be configured to enable removable attachment of thecontrol unit 230 to the adapter 210. For example, the adapter 210 maydefine one or more attachment members that are configured to engage withcomplementary features of the control unit 230. As shown, the adapter210 may define one or more resilient snap fit connectors 216 that areconfigured to engage with complementary features of the control unit230. The adapter 210 may be configured to enable removable attachment ofthe faceplate 260 to the adapter 210. For example, the adapter 210 maydefine one or more attachment members that are configured to engage withcomplementary features of the faceplate 260. As shown, the adapter 210may define one or more resilient snap fit connectors 218 that areconfigured to engage with complementary features of the faceplate 260.

The faceplate may define a front surface 261 and an opposed rear surface263. The front surface 261 may alternatively be referred to as an outersurface of the faceplate 260, and the rear surface 263 may alternativelybe referred to as an inner surface of the faceplate 260. The faceplate260 may define an opening 262 therethrough that is configured to receivea portion of the control unit 230, such that the control unit 230protrudes proud of the faceplate 260 when the remote control device 200is in an assembled configuration. As shown, the faceplate 260 may definerecessed ledges 264 that are configured to engage with correspondingones of the snap fit connectors 218 of the adapter 210, to releasablyattach the faceplate 260 to the adapter 210. The faceplate 260 may bemade of any suitable material, such as plastic.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the control unit 230 may include a cover232, an insert 234 that is configured to be received in the cover 232,and a flexible circuit board 236 that may be configured to be wrappedaround a portion of the insert 234. The cover 232 and the insert 234 maybe made of any suitable material, such as plastic. The illustratedcontrol unit 230 is rectangular in shape and is elongate between a firstend 231 and an opposed second end 233. It should be appreciated that thecontrol unit 230 is not limited to the illustrated rectangular geometry,and that control unit may be configured with other suitable geometries.In accordance with the illustrated orientation of the control unit 230,the first end 231 may be referred to as an upper end of the control unit230 and the second end 233 may be referred to as a lower end of thecontrol unit 230. The first and second ends 231, 233 of the control unit230 may also be referred to as first and second ends of the cover 232,respectively. The cover 232 may define a void 238 that is configured toreceive the insert 234 with the flexible circuit board 236 wrappedaround the insert 234 in an attached position. The cover 232 may definean inner surface 242 and an opposed outer surface 244. The outer surface244 of the cover 232 may alternatively be referred to as a front surfaceof the cover 232, and more generally as an outer surface of the controlunit 230.

The control unit 230 may include a touch sensitive circuit (e.g., acapacitive touch circuit) that is configured to receive (e.g., detect)inputs, such as gestures, from a user of the remote control device 220.For example, the flexible circuit board 236 may include one or morecapacitive touch elements on a capacitive touch circuit 240 of theflexible circuit board 236. As shown, the capacitive touch circuit 240faces the inner surface 242 of the cover 232 (e.g., behind the outersurface 244 of the control unit 230) when the flexible circuit board 236is wrapped around the insert 234 and disposed in the void 238. The oneor more capacitive touch elements on the capacitive touch circuit 240may form multiple (e.g., two) capacitive touch channels or zones 240 a,240 b that may be located on both sides of a central vertical axis ofthe capacitive touch circuit 240. The capacitive touch circuit 240 maybe configured to detect touches (e.g., gestures applied on the outersurface 244) along an x axis, a y axis, or both an x and y axis. Thecapacitive touch circuit 240 may be further configured to detectgestures that are effectuated without any physical contact with theouter surface 244. For example, the capacitive touch circuit 240 may becapable of detecting a hovering finger in the proximity of the outersurface 244 based on changes occurred in the electromagnetic field nearthe capacitive surface 240. Since the capacitive touch circuit 240resides behind the outer surface 244 and is capable of detect userinputs applied via the outer surface 244, the outer surface 244 may alsoregarded herein as a touch sensitive surface.

The control unit 230 may further include a control circuit (not shown)and a wireless communication circuit (not shown). The control circuitand the wireless communication circuit may be mounted to the flexiblecircuit board 236, for example. The control circuit may be in electricalcommunication with the capacitive touch circuit 240, and the wirelesscommunication circuit may be in electrical communication with thecontrol circuit. The flexible circuit board 236 may be configured towrap around the insert 234 such that the capacitive touch circuit 240 isspaced from the control circuit, the wireless communication circuit,and/or other “noisy” circuitry of the flexible circuit board 236 along adirection that extends perpendicular to the outer surface 244 of thecover 232. This may improve operational efficiency of the capacitivetouch circuit 240.

The control unit 230 may be battery-powered. For example, as shown, theinsert 234 may define a battery compartment 237 that is configured toretain a battery, for instance the illustrated coin cell battery 280,such that the battery is placed in electrical communication with theflexible circuit board 236, for instance to power the capacitive touchcircuit 240, the control circuit, the wireless communication circuit,and/or other circuitry of the control unit 230. Alternatively oradditionally, the control unit 230 may be configured to derive powerfrom a power source connected to the mechanical switch 270, such assource of AC power for example. The faceplate 260 may be configured tostore one or more spare batteries 280, for example in a void definedbetween an inner surface of the faceplate 260 and the adapter 210.

The control unit 230 may be configured to translate one or more inputsapplied via the capacitive touch circuit 240 into respective controldata that may be used to control an electrical load of a load controlsystem. For example, the control circuit may be configured to receivesignals from the capacitive touch circuit 240 that correspond to inputs,such as point actuation and/or gestures (e.g., as described withreference to FIG. 1), applied to the capacitive touch circuit 240 by auser of the remote control device 200. The control circuit may beconfigured to interpret the signals into commands that the user desiresthe control unit 230 to cause to be executed.

As noted above, the control circuit may be configured to recognize aplurality of signals received from the capacitive touch circuit 240 thatcorrespond to user inputs or gestures applied via the capacitive touchsurface. The control unit 230 may be configured to provide a visualindication associated with inputs and/or gestures received by thecapacitive touch circuit 240. For example, as shown, the control unit230 may further include a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 246that are configured to provide the visual indication. In accordance withthe illustrated control unit 230, the plurality of LEDs 246 are arrangedin a linear array that extends between the upper and lower ends 231, 233of the control unit 230, and may be attached to the flexible circuitboard 236 approximate to an outer edge thereof. The cover 232 may definean opening that allows light from one or more of the LEDs 246 to beemitted outward from an interior of the cover 232. For example, asshown, the cover 232 defines a narrow slot 248 that extends between theupper and lower ends 231, 233 of the cover 232. The cover 232 mayinclude a light bar 249 that is disposed in the slot 248. The capacitivetouch circuit 240 may define a gap 241, for example approximately midwaybetween opposed sides of the flexible circuit board 236 or near a sidethereof. The control unit may further include a light guide 250 that maybe configured to diffuse light emitted from the LEDs 246 through the gap241 at respective locations along the slot 248. The light guide 250 maycomprise light guide film, for example. It should be appreciated thatthe control unit 230 is not limited to the illustrated array of LEDs 246and/or the illustrated geometry of the slot 248.

The cover 232, the capacitive touch circuit 240, the plurality of LEDs246, and the slot 248 may cooperate with one another to define acapacitive touch interface of the control unit 230, and more generallyof the remote control device 200. The capacitive touch interface may beconfigured to provide a visual indication of a command issued by theremote control device 200. For example, the capacitive touch interfacemay be configured to, upon receiving a point actuation or gestureindicative of a command to change an amount of power delivered to anelectrical load, such as a command to dim a lighting load of a lightingcontrol system, indicate the amount of power delivered to the electricalload by temporarily illuminating a number of the plurality of LEDs 246that corresponds with the desired amount of power (e.g., the desireddimming level of the lighting load). In such an example, the controlcircuit may be configured to cause the LEDs 246 to be illuminatedsimultaneously, to illuminate sequentially with some or little overlapbefore fading, or to otherwise illuminate as desired.

The control unit 230 may be configured to be attached to the adapter 210in multiple orientations, for example in accordance with a position ofthe actuator 272 of the mechanical switch 270. For example, the insert234 may be configured to, when received in the void 238 in the cover232, define a recess 252 (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8) that isconfigured to receive a portion of the actuator 272 of the mechanicalswitch 270 when the control unit 230 is attached to the adapter 210. Asshown, the insert 234 may define a sloped surface 254 that at leastpartially defines the recess 252. When the control unit 230 is attachedto the adapter 210, the control unit 230 may be oriented such that therecess 252 is positioned over, and receives, a portion of the actuator272 that protrudes from the mechanical switch 270. To illustrate, if theactuator 272 is in a first position, such that the lower portion of theactuator 272 protrudes, the control unit 230 may be oriented such thatthe recess 252 is positioned to receive the lower portion of theactuator 272. Alternatively, if the actuator 272 is in a secondposition, such that the upper portion of the actuator 272 protrudes, thecontrol unit 230 may be oriented such that the recess 252 is positionedto receive the upper portion of the actuator 272. In this regard, thecontrol unit 230 may be configured to be attached to the adapter 210 inat least first and second orientations. As shown, the cover 232 of thecontrol unit 230 may define slots 256 that are configured to receive andengage with corresponding ones of the snap fit connectors 216 of theadapter 210, to releasably attach the control unit 230 to the adapter210. FIG. 5 illustrates the adapter 210 with the control unit 230attached thereto.

The control unit 230 may comprise an orientation sensing circuit (notshown), such that the control unit 230 is configured to determine anorientation of the control unit 230. For example, through the use of theorientation sensing circuit, the control circuit 230 may determine itsorientation relative to the space where it is installed (e.g., based ongravity) and/or its orientation relative to another component, such asthe adapter 210, the faceplate 260, the switch 270, etc. For example,the illustrated control unit 230 may be configured to determine whetherthe control unit 230 is attached to the adapter 210 in a firstorientation in which the recess 252 is located closer to a lower end ofthe adapter 210, or is attached to the adapter 210 in a secondorientation in which the recess 252 is located closer to an upper end ofthe adapter 210.

The control unit 230 may, for example, determine (e.g., automaticallydetermine) the orientation of the control unit 230 relative to theadapter 210 upon the control unit 230 being mounted to the adapter 210.For example, the control unit may automatically determine theorientation of the control unit 230 relative to the adapter 210 upon thecontrol unit 230 being mounted to the adapter 210 without any userinput. Alternatively or additionally, the control unit 230 may determinethe orientation of the control unit 230 relative to the adapter 210 eachtime the control unit 230 wakes up from an off or sleep state.

The orientation sensing circuit may comprise a switch (e.g., a portionof a switch or the entirety of a switch), such as one or more electricalcontacts (e.g., an electrical contact pad 258), a tactile switch, agravity switch, a mercury switch, a ball and LED sensor switch, and/orthe like. Alternatively or additionally, the orientation sensing circuitmay comprise an optocoupler (e.g., which may include an LED, such as aninfra-red (IR) LED, and a photodiode), an inductive sensor, aphotosensitive device (e.g., a photodiode), a hall-effect sensor circuit(e.g., or a reed switch), an accelerometer, a gyroscope, the wirelesscommunication circuit of the remote control device 200, and/or othercomponents of the control unit 230. Further, the orientation sensingcircuit may be configured such that an orientation of the control unit230 may be determined (e.g., specified) during a configuration processof the control unit 230, for instance when pairing the remote controldevice 200 to a load control system (e.g., as described with referenceto FIGS. 35 and 36).

As noted above, the orientation sensing circuit may include a switchthat includes an electrical contact. In some examples, the adapter 210or the faceplate 260 may include a second contact that is used to closethe switch. For example, the control unit 230 may determine theorientation of the control unit 230 with respect to the adapter 210based on whether or not the first and second contacts are in electricalcommunication, where the contacts may be in electrical communicationwith one another when the control unit 230 is in a first orientation(e.g., the switch is closed and/or the switch is conductive), but not inelectrical communication with one another when the control unit 230 isin a second orientation (e.g., the switch is open and/or the switch isnon-conductive).

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 230 may include agravity switch or a mercury switch. In such examples, the gravity switchor mercury switch may be oriented on the control unit 230 such that thegravity or mercury switch is configured to be in a closed position whenthe control unit 230 is connected to the adapter plate 210 in a firstorientation, and in an open position when the control unit 230 isconnected to the adapter plate 210 in a second orientation. Accordingly,the control unit 230 may be configured to determine the orientation ofthe control unit 230 with respect to the adapter 210 based on whetherthe gravity switch or mercury switch is in the open or closed position.

For instance, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the orientation sensingcircuit may comprise a switch that includes an electrical contact pad258, and the control unit 230 may be configured to determine theorientation of the control unit 230 with respect to the adapter 210based on whether or not the electrical contact pad 258 is in electricalcommunication with a shorting member 266 of the faceplate 260. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 3B, the flexible circuit board 236 may definethe electrical contact pad 258 that is configured to be received in arecess 235 defined by the cover 232, such that the electrical contactpad 258 is exposed. The faceplate 260 may include a shorting member 266that is located along a lower edge of the opening 262. The faceplate 260may define one or more markings (not shown) to ensure proper orientationof the faceplate 260, and thus the shorting member 266, when attachingthe faceplate 260 to the adapter 210. The control circuit of the controlunit 230 may be configured to determine whether the control unit 230 isin the first or second orientation based upon whether or not theshorting member 266 is placed into electrical communication with theelectrical contact pad 258 when the faceplate 260 is attached to theadapter 210. In this regard, the control unit 230 may be configured todetermine an orientation of the control unit 230 relative to thefaceplate 260, and thereby an orientation of the control unit 230relative to the adapter 210.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 230 may include atactile switch, and the faceplate 260 or the adapter 210 may include aprotrusion (not shown). For example, if the adapter 210 includes theprotrusion, then the protrusion may be configured to actuate the tactileswitch when the control unit 230 is attached to the adapter 210 in thefirst orientation, but not actuate the tactile switch when the controlunit 230 is attached to the adapter 210 in the second orientation. Assuch, the control unit 230 may be configured to determine itsorientation with respect to the adapter 210. Similarly, if the faceplateincludes the protrusion (e.g., and one or more markings, as notedabove), then the control unit 230 may be configured to determine whetherthe control unit 230 is in the first or second orientation based uponwhether or not the protrusion actuates the tactile switch when thefaceplate 260 is attached to the adapter 210. In this regard, thecontrol unit 230 may be configured to determine an orientation of thecontrol unit 230 relative to the faceplate 260, and thereby anorientation of the control unit 230 relative to the adapter 210.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 230 may include aball and an LED sensor, which may operate as a switch. When the controlunit 230 is attached to the adapter 210 in a first orientation, the ballmay be configured to block the LED sensor, thereby closing the switch.Conversely, when the control unit 230 is attached to the adapter 210 ina second orientation, the ball may not block the LED sensor, and theswitch may remain open. As such, the control unit 230 may be configuredto determine whether the control unit 230 is attached to the adapter 210in a first orientation or a second orientation based on whether or notthe ball and LED sensor is in an open or closed position.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 230 may include aphotosensitive device, such as a photodiode, that is configured todetect light that is originates external from the remote control device200 (e.g., ambient light) and/or internal to the remote control device200 (e.g., light from the LEDs 246). For example, the remote controldevice 200 (e.g., the control unit 230, the adapter 210, and/or thefaceplate 260) may include one or more of a blocking element (e.g.,opaque material) or guiding element (e.g., a notch, channel, componentsmade from translucent material, reflective components, etc.). If theremote control device 200 includes a blocking element, then the blockingelement may block light (e.g., internal or external light) from reachingthe photosensitive device when the control unit 230 is in the secondorientation, but not block light when the control unit 230 is in thefirst orientation. Similarly, if the remote control device 200 includesa guiding element, then the guiding element may allow light (e.g.,internal or external light) to reach the photosensitive device when thecontrol unit 230 is in the first orientation, but not allow light toreach the photosensitive device when the control unit 230 is in thesecond orientation. Therefore, the control unit 230 may be configured todetermine whether the control unit 230 is attached to the adapter 210 ina first orientation or a second orientation based on whether or not thephotosensitive device detects light.

For example, the adapter 210 and/or faceplate 260 may include a notch orchannel (not shown) that is configured to line up with thephotosensitive device when the control unit 230 is attached to theadapter 210 in a first orientation, but not line up with thephotosensitive device when the control unit 230 is attached to theadapter 210 in a second orientation. The notch or channel may define anopening through the adapter 210 or faceplate 260 to allow light (e.g.,ambient light, light from the LEDs 246, light from an LED specific forthis purpose, etc.) to pass through the adapter 210 or faceplate 260.According, the photosensitive device may be configured to detect lightthrough the notch or channel when the control unit 230 is attached tothe adapter 210 in the first orientation, but not detect light throughthe notch or channel when the control unit 230 is attached to theadapter 210 in the second orientation.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 230 may include aninductive sensor that is configured to detect a presence of metal on thecontrol unit 230, the adapter 210, and/or the faceplate 260. Forexample, the inductive sensor may be configured to detect the presenceof metal on the control unit 230 (e.g., a trace of coil on a PCB of thecontrol unit) when the control unit 230 is attached to the adapter 210in a first orientation, but not detect the presence of metal on thecontrol unit 230 when the control unit 230 is attached to the adapter210 in a second orientation. For instance, the adapter 210 and/or thefaceplate 260 may include a piece of metal on one end but not the other,such that the inductive sensor is configured to detect the presence ofthe metal residing on the adapter 210 or the faceplate 260 when thecontrol unit 230 is attached to the adapter 210 in the firstorientation, but not detect the presence of the metal when the controlunit 230 is attached to the adapter 210 in the second orientation. Insome examples, the adapter 210 may include a shielding element (e.g., aplastic flange) (not shown) that is situated between the inductivesensor and the metal of the control unit 230 when the control unit 230is in the second orientation, but is not situated between the inductivesensor and the metal of the control unit 230 when the control unit 230is in the first orientation.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 230 may include ahall-effect sensor circuit, and the adapter 210 and/or faceplate 260 mayinclude a magnet (not shown). When the magnet and hall-effect sensingcircuit are aligned, the hall-effect sensing circuit may detect anelectromagnetic field of the magnet and provide feedback to the controlcircuit of the control unit 230. For instance, the magnet andhall-effect sensor circuit may be aligned when the control unit 230 isattached to the adapter 210 in a first orientation, but not aligned whenthe control unit 230 is attached to the adapter 210 in a secondorientation. Accordingly, the control unit 230 may be configured todetermine the orientation of the control unit 230 with respect to theadapter 210 based on whether or not the control unit 230 receives asignal from the hall-effect sensing circuit indicating that magnet andhall-effect sensing circuit are aligned. In some examples, thehall-effect sensor circuit may include a multi-axis hall-effect sensor(e.g., a three-axis hall-effect sensor). The multi-axis hall-effectsensor may allow the orientation sensing circuit to detect orientationsare a variety of degrees of angle, such as a 15° angle, a 30° angle, a45° angle, a 60° angle, a 75° angle, etc.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 230 may include anaccelerometer, and the control unit 230 may be configured to determinethe orientation of the control unit 230 with respect to the adapter 210based on feedback from the accelerometer. For instance, theaccelerometer may be configured to sense orientation based on adirection of weight change, which for example, may be different when thecontrol unit 230 is attached to the adapter 210 in a first orientationthan it is when the control unit 230 is attached to the adapter in asecond orientation. Accordingly, the control unit 230 may be configuredto determine the orientation of the control unit 230 with respect to theadapter 210 based on feedback from the accelerometer.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 230 may include amanually operated switch. As such, the remote control device 200 may beconfigured to receive a user input controlling the orientation (e.g.,setting or switching the orientation) of the control unit 230 withrespect to the adapter 210 via the manual switch.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 230 may include oneor more of the control circuit of the remote control device 200, theflexible circuit board 236 (e.g., the touch response surface of theflexible circuit board 236), the wireless communication circuit of theremote control device 200, and/or other components of the control unit230. For instance, the orientation sensing circuit may be configuredsuch that the control circuit of the control unit 230 is configured toreceive an indication of the orientation of the control unit 230 duringa configuration mode of the control unit 230. For example, the controlcircuit may receive the indication of the orientation of the controlunit 230 by way of a unique user input via the user interface of thecontrol unit 230 and/or via an external device (e.g., a smartphone ortablet). In such examples, the control unit 230 may be placed into theconfiguration mode using a unique user input via the user interface ofthe control unit 230 and/or via an external device.

Once in the configuration mode, the control unit 230 may be configuredto perform one or more advanced functions, such as orientationdetermination, pairing of the remote control device 200 to a loadcontrol system (e.g., pairing the remote control device 200 to one ormore electrical loads, such as lighting loads), configuring controlsettings for one or more electrical loads (e.g., presets, scenesettings, and/or the like), etc. For example, once in the configurationmode, the control unit 230 may be configured to receive the orientationof the control unit 230 from a mobile application residing on anexternal device. The external device may determine the orientation ofthe control unit 230 based on user input via the external device orbased on feedback determined by the external device (e.g., via use of acamera of the external device, for example, as described with referenceto FIG. 36), and the control unit 230 may receive information indicationthe orientation from the external device (e.g., via the wirelesscommunication circuit of the control unit 230). For example, once in theorientation mode, the control unit 230 may receive a user input (e.g.,gesture, point actuation, etc.) that indicates and sets the orientationof the control unit 230.

In some examples, the control unit 230 may be configured to be paired tothe load control system and/or determine the orientation of the controlunit 230 using a camera of an external device. For example, the controlunit 230 may be configured to illuminate the LEDs 246 of the controlunit 230 in a unique pattern to communicate an identification of thecontrol unit (e.g., used for pairing the remote control device 200 tothe load control system) to the camera of the external device and/or tocommunication the orientation of the control unit 230 to the camera ofthe external device. As such, the external device may be configured todetermine the orientation of the control unit 230 using the camera ofthe external device, and the control unit 230 may be configured toreceive the orientation of the control unit 230 from the external devicevia the communication circuit.

After the control unit 230 determines the orientation of the controlunit 230 with respect to the adapter 210, the control unit 230 maytranslate a user input received via the user interface (e.g., thecapacitive touch circuit) into control data for controlling one or moreelectrical loads based on the orientation of the control unit 230. Thatis, the control unit 230 may be configured to generate control databased on the orientation of the control unit 230. With knowledge of theorientation of the control unit 230, the control unit 230 can determinethe relative location and/or direction of the user input with respect tothe user (e.g., which is based on the orientation that the control unit230 with respect to the adapter). For example, the control unit 230 candetermine whether a user input is intended to turn an electrical load onor off, increase or decrease power delivered to the electrical load(e.g., an intensity of a lighting load), cycle through presets and/orscenes of the remote control device, and/or the like based on theorientation of the control unit 230.

The control circuit of the control unit 230 may be configured to causethe wireless communication circuit to transmit respective controlsignals (e.g., to one or more electrical loads) that include the controldata that corresponds to interpreted user inputs received at thecapacitive touch circuit 240. For example, the remote control device 200may be operable to transmit wireless signals, for example radiofrequency (RF) signals, to a load control device, one or more electricalloads, and/or a central processor of a load control system. The remotecontrol device 200 may be associated with the load control device andthe one or more electrical loads during a configuration procedure of theload control system. An example of a configuration procedure forassociating a remote control device with a load control device isdescribed in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Patent PublicationNo. 2008/0111491, published May 15, 2008, entitled “Radio-FrequencyLighting Control System,” the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

The control circuit may provide an indication (e.g., a visualindication) of an amount of power delivered to the electrical load bythe remote control device 200 based on the orientation of the controlunit 230. For example, the control circuit may use determination of theorientation of the control unit 230 relative to the adapter 210 (e.g.,and/or faceplate 260) to determine which end of the array of LEDs 246should correspond to a high-end intensity (e.g., approximately 100%intensity) and which end of the array of LEDs 246 should correspond to alow-end intensity (e.g., approximately 1% intensity), for example, whendisplaying an indication of the amount of power delivered to anelectrical load. The control unit 230 may be configured to, based on thedetermination of orientation, illuminate one or more of the LEDs 246such that the high-end intensity corresponds to an upper end of the LEDarray and such that the low-end intensity corresponds to a lower end ofthe LED array. In this regard, the control unit 230 may ensure properindication of the high-end and low-end intensities via the LEDs 246regardless of whether the control unit 230 is mounted to the adapter 210in the first orientation or the second orientation (e.g., based onwhether the on position of the mechanical switch 270 corresponds to theactuator 272 operated to the up position or to the down position).

FIGS. 9-21 depict examples of a remote control device 300 (e.g., abattery-powered rotary remote control device) that may be deployed, forexample, as the remote control device 120 of the load control system 100shown in FIG. 1. The remote control device 300 may be configured to bemounted over a toggle actuator 304 of a standard light switch 302 (e.g.,the toggle actuator 206 of the SPST maintained mechanical switch 204shown in FIG. 2), for example, without removing a faceplate 306 that ismounted to the light switch 302 (e.g., via faceplate screws 308).

The remote control device 300 may include a base portion 310 and acontrol unit 320 that may be attached to the base portion 310. Thecontrol unit 320 may include a rotating portion that is rotatable withrespect to the base portion 310. For example, as shown, the control unit320 may include an annular rotating portion 322 that is configured to berotatable relative to the base portion 310 when the control unit 320 isattached to the base portion 310. The remote control device 300 may beconfigured such that the control unit 320 and the base portion 310 areremovably attachable to one another. FIG. 10 depicts the remote controldevice 300 with the control unit 320 detached from the base portion 310.

The base portion 310 may be configured to be fixedly attached to theactuator of a mechanical switch, such as the toggle actuator 304 of thelight switch 302, and may be configured to maintain the actuator in acurrent position, such as in the on position. For example, as shown thebase portion 310 may include a base 311 that defines a toggle actuatoropening 312 that extends therethrough and that is configured to receiveat least a portion of the toggle actuator 304.

The remote control device 300 may be configured to enable releasableattachment of the control unit 320 to the base portion 310. As such, thebase portion 310 may operate as a mounting structure for the controlunit 320. The base portion 310 may include one or more engagementfeatures that are configured to engage with complementary engagementfeatures of the control unit 320. For example, as shown the base 311 ofthe base portion 310 may include resilient snap-fit connectors 314, andthe control unit 320 may define corresponding recesses 315 that areconfigured to receive the snap-fit connectors 314. The base portion 310may include a release mechanism that is operable to cause the controlunit 320 to be released from an attached position relative to the baseportion 310. As shown, the base 311 of the base portion 310 may includea release tab 316 that may be actuated (e.g., pushed) to release thecontrol unit 320 from the base portion 310.

As shown, the release tab 316 may be connected to the base 311 of thebase portion 310 via a resilient, cantilevered spring arm 350, such thata gap 352 is defined between the base 311 and the spring arm 350. Inoperation, when the release tab 316 is pressed up towards the base 311,the spring arm 350 may deflect into the gap 352, allowing the lowermostsnap-fit connector 314 adjacent to the release tab 316 to be removedfrom the corresponding lower recess 315 of the control unit 320, suchthat the control unit 320 is released from the base portion 310. Whenthe control unit 320 is attached to the base portion 310, the uppermostsnap-fit connector 314 may first be positioned in the correspondingupper recess 315 of the control unit 320. The lower portion of thecontrol unit 320 may then be pressed towards the base 311, such that thespring arm 350 deflects into the gap 352 until the lower snap-fitconnector 314 is received into the lower recess 315 of the control unit320, at which point the spring arm 350 may resiliently return to a restposition (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 10 and 29).

The base portion 310 may be mounted to the toggle actuator 304 of thelight switch 302 when the toggle actuator is in an up position (e.g., a“switched up” position as shown in FIG. 10), or alternatively may bemounted to the toggle actuator 304 when the toggle actuator 304 is in adown position (e.g., a “switched down” position that is opposite theposition of the toggle actuator 304 shown in FIG. 10). To illustrate, inan example installation in which a single remote control device 300 isinstalled over a single-pole switch, the up position of the toggleactuator typically corresponds to “on” such that power is delivered to aconnected electrical load but the down position of the toggle actuatormay correspond to “on” (e.g., if the switch is incorrectly installedupside down). In another example installation in which a single remotecontrol device 300 is installed over a 3-way switch, either the up ordown position of the toggle actuator may correspond to “on” such thatpower is delivered to the electrical load (e.g., depending on how theinstallation is wired). In still another example installation in whichtwo remote control devices 300 are installed over respective 3-wayswitches, the up position of the toggle actuator may correspond to “on”for the first 3-way switch of the installation and the down position ofthe toggle actuator may correspond to “on” for the second 3-way switchof the installation (e.g., depending on how the installation is wired).

When the control unit 320 is coupled to the base portion 310 as shown inFIG. 9, the rotating portion 322 may be rotatable in opposed directionsabout the base portion 310 (e.g., in the clockwise or counter-clockwisedirections). The base portion 310 may be configured to be mounted overthe toggle actuator 304 of the switch 302 such that the rotationalmovement of the rotating portion 322 may not change the operationalstate of the toggle actuator 304 (e.g., the toggle actuator 304 mayremain in the on position to maintain functionality of the remotecontrol device 300).

The control unit 320 may comprise an actuation portion 324. Theactuation portion 324 may in turn comprise a part or an entirety of afront surface of the control unit 320. For example, the control unit 320may have a circular surface within an opening defined by the rotatingportion 322. The actuation portion 324 may comprise a part of thecircular surface (e.g., a central area of the circular surface) orapproximately the entire circular surface. In an example, the actuationportion 324 may be configured to move towards the light switch 302 toactuate a mechanical switch (not shown) inside the control unit 320 aswill be described in greater detail below. The actuation portion 324 mayreturn to an idle position (e.g., as shown in FIG. 5) after beingactuated.

In some examples, the front surface of the actuation portion 324 may bea touch sensitive surface (e.g., a capacitive touch surface). Theactuation portion 324 may include a touch sensitive circuit (e.g., acapacitive touch circuit) adjacent to the rear surface of the actuationportion (e.g., on a printed circuit board (PCB) 364 of the control unit320). The touch sensitive circuit may be actuated in response to a touchof the touch sensitive surface of the actuation portion 324. Forexample, the actuation portion 324 may include a capacitive touchcircuit (e.g., the capacitive touch circuit 240 of the control unit 230)that may be responsive to user inputs via the capacitive touch surfaceon the front surface of the actuation portion 324. For example, thecontrol unit 320 may be configured to detect point actuations and/orgestures via the touch sensitive circuit, for example, as describedherein (e.g., with reference to FIG. 1).

The control unit 320 may include a light bar 326. The light bar 326 maybe arranged at least partially around the peripheral of the actuationportion 324 of control unit 320, for example, in circular orsemi-circular geometry. FIGS. 11A-11C show front views of the remotecontrol device 300 when the light bar 326 is illuminated to provide anindication of the intensity of the lighting load. For example, anilluminated portion 354 of the light bar may begin at a starting point356 (e.g., at the bottom of the light bar 326 as shown in FIG. 11A). Theilluminated portion 354 may end at an ending point 358 (e.g., anendpoint) that may indicate the present intensity of the lighting load.More generally, the length of the illuminated portion 354 may increase(e.g., wrap around the light bar 326 in the clockwise direction as shownin FIGS. 11A-11C) or decrease (e.g., contract along the light bar 326 inthe counterclockwise direction as shown in FIGS. 11A-11C), and length ofthe illuminated portion 354 may indicate the present intensity of thelighting load. For example, the light bar 326 may be illuminated toindicate the present intensity of the lighting load is approximately 30%as shown in FIG. 11A, approximately 60% as shown in FIG. 11B, andapproximately 90% as shown in FIG. 11C. When the lighting load is at afull intensity (e.g., approximately full intensity), the entire lightbar 326 may be illuminated.

The light bar 326 may be located, for example, between the rotatingportion 322 and the actuation portion 324. As shown, the light bar 326may define a full circle geometry as shown in FIG. 9. The light bar 326may be attached to a periphery of the actuation portion 324, and maymove with the actuation portion 324 when the actuation portion 324 isactuated. The remote control device 300 may provide feedback via thelight bar 326, for instance while the rotating portion 322 is beingrotated and/or after the remote control device 300 is actuated (e.g.,the rotating portion 322 is rotated and/or the actuation portion 324 isactuated). The feedback may indicate, for example, that the remotecontrol device 300 is transmitting one or more RF signals 108. Toillustrate, the light bar 326 may be illuminated for a few seconds(e.g., 1-2 seconds) after the remote control device 300 is actuated, andthen may be turned off (e.g., to conserve battery life). The light bar326 may be illuminated to different intensities, for example dependingon whether the rotating portion 322 is being rotated to raise or lowerthe intensity of the lighting load. The light bar 326 may be illuminatedto provide feedback of an actual intensity of a lighting load beingcontrolled by the remote control device 300 (e.g., the controllablelight source 110).

As described herein, the rotating portion 322 of the remote controldevice 300 may be rotated in opposed directions to increase or decreasethe intensity of the lighting load (e.g., after the actuation portion324 has been actuated). As the rotating portion 322 is being rotated,the light bar 326 may be illuminated and the length of the illuminatedportion 354 may be adjusted as shown in FIGS. 11A-11C to indicate theactual intensity of the lighting load. When the actuation portion 324 isactuated to turn the lighting load on, the light bar 326 may beilluminated to quickly increase the length of the illuminated portion354, e.g., from the starting point 356 to the ending point 358 thatcorresponds to the present target intensity for the lighting load. Thepresent target intensity may be, for example, a preset intensity or aprevious intensity to which the lighting load was turned on. Either orboth of the preset intensity and the previous intensity may be stored bythe remote control device 300 in memory. When the actuation portion 324is actuated to turn the lighting load off, the light bar 326 may beilluminated to quick decrease the length of the illuminated portion 354from the ending point 358 that corresponds to the present intensity ofthe lighting load to the starting point 356. Prior to decreasing thelength of the illuminated portion 354, the remote control device 300 maybe configured to store the present intensity of the lighting load inmemory (e.g., such that the length of the illuminated portion 354 may beset accordingly when the lighting load is subsequently turned back on).

FIG. 12 is an enlarged front perspective view of the base portion 310.The base portion 310 may include an engagement mechanism that isconfigured to engage the toggle actuator 304, for example when thetoggle actuator 304 is received in the toggle actuator opening 312. Theengagement mechanism may be configured to engage the toggle actuator 304such that the base portion 310 is secured in position relative to thetoggle actuator 304. For example, the engagement mechanism may include abar 330. The bar 330 may be operably coupled to the base 311, and may beconfigured to be moveable, for instance translatable, relative to thebase 311. The bar 330 may be configured to be translated within thetoggle actuator opening 312 such that the bar 330 engages with thetoggle actuator 304, thereby fixedly attaching the mounting structure inposition relative to the toggle actuator 304 of the light switch 302when the toggle actuator 304 is in the up position or the down position.As shown, the bar 330 may extend across the toggle actuator opening 312of the base 311, such that the base 311 defines a first opening 312A toreceive the toggle actuator 304 when the toggle actuator 304 is in theup position and a second opening 312B to receive the toggle actuator 304when the toggle actuator 304 is in the down position. In accordance withthe illustrated orientation of the mounting structure, the first opening312A may be referred to as an upper opening of the base 311 and thesecond opening 312B may be referred to as a lower opening of the base311.

The illustrated bar 330 defines a first end 332 and an opposed secondend 338. The first end 332 of the bar 330 may be configured to slidewithin a channel 334 defined by the base 311. As shown, the base 311 maydefine a flange 336 that is configured to retain the first end 332 ofthe bar 330 in the channel 334. The second end 338 of the bar may definea threaded sleeve 339 that is configured to receive a screw 340. Thebase 311 may be configured to capture the screw 340 such that the screw340 is freely rotatable relative to the base 311. For example, the base311 may define a collar 342 that retains a first non-threaded portion ofa shaft of the screw 340, a recess 345 that is configured to capture ahead 344 of the screw 340, and an aperture (not shown) that isconfigured to support a tip portion (not shown) of the screw 340. Inthis regard, the base 311 may be configured to support opposed ends ofthe screw 340 such that the screw 340 may be rotated relative to thebase 311 without causing translation of the screw 340 relative to thebase 311. As shown, the base 311 may define a recess 346 that isconfigured to allow a tool, such as a screwdriver, to access the head344 of the screw 340 to rotate the screw. The base 311 may be configuredto support the screw 340 such that the screw 340 is angled slightly withrespect to the faceplate 306 (e.g., approximately 5°). This may make iteasier for a user to access the head 344 of the screw with ascrewdriver. Rotating the screw 340 in a first direction (e.g.,clockwise) may cause the bar 330 to translate upward along the screw 340such that the bar 330 contacts the toggle actuator 304 of the lightswitch 302, for instance when the toggle actuator is in the up position.Rotating the screw 340 in a second direction (e.g., counter-clockwise)may cause the bar 330 to translate downward along the screw 340 suchthat the bar 330 contacts the toggle actuator 304, for instance when thetoggle actuator is in the down position.

The bar 330 may be configured to mechanically grip the toggle actuator304. For example, as shown, the bar 330 may define have an upper edge348 that is configured to bite into a corresponding lower surface of thetoggle actuator 304 when the toggle actuator is in the up position, andmay define a lower edge 349 that is configured to bite into acorresponding upper surface of the toggle actuator 304 when the toggleactuator is in the down position. The bar 330 may be made of anysuitable material, such as metal.

When the bar 330 is contacting (e.g., gripping) the toggle actuator 304of the light switch 302 in either the up position or the down position,the base 311, and thus the base portion 310, may be secured in a fixedposition relative to the toggle actuator 304, and the toggle actuator304 may be prevented from being switched to the off position. In thisregard, a user of the remote control device 300 may be unable toinadvertently switch the light switch 302 off when the remote controldevice 300 is mounted over the light switch 302. It should beappreciated that the bar 330 allows for installation of the base portionto the switch 302 when the toggle actuator 304 is in the up position orthe down position while keeping the release tab 316 on the bottom (e.g.,facing downward).

The control unit 320 may be detached from the base portion 310 (e.g., asshown in FIG. 10), for instance to access one or more batteries 360 thatmay be used to power the control unit 320. FIG. 13 is an enlarged rearperspective view of the control unit 320. For example, the control unit320 may include a single battery 360 as shown in FIG. 13. The controlunit 320 may be configured such that the battery 360 is located in spacewithin the control unit 320 that is not occupied by the toggle actuator304. The control unit 320 may include a battery retention strap 362 thatmay be configured to hold the battery 360 in place between the batteryretention strap 362 and a printed circuit board (PCB) 364 of the controlunit 320. The battery retention strap 362 may be configured to operateas a first electrical contact for the battery 360. A second electricalcontact may be located on a rear-facing surface of the PCB 364. In anexample of removing the battery 360 from the control unit 320, thecontrol unit 320 may be detached from the base portion 310, for instanceas described herein, and the battery 360 may be slid out from betweenthe battery retention strap 362 and the PCB 364. The PCB 364 may definean actuator opening 366 that extends therethrough and that may beconfigured to receive at least a portion of the toggle actuator 304 ofthe light switch 302 when the control unit 320 is mounted to the baseportion 310.

When the control unit 320 is attached to the base portion 310 (e.g., asshown in FIG. 9), the rotating portion 322 may be rotatable in opposeddirections about the base portion 310. The base portion 310 may beconfigured to be mounted over the toggle actuator 304 of the lightswitch 202 such that the application of rotational movement to therotating portion 322 does not actuate the toggle actuator 304. Thecontrol unit 320 may include an actuation portion 324, which may beoperated separately from or in concert with the rotating portion 322. Asshown, the actuation portion 324 may include a circular surface withinan opening 370 defined by the rotating portion 322. In an exampleimplementation, the actuation portion 324 may be configured to moveinward towards the light switch 302 to actuate a mechanical switchlocated inside the control unit 320, for instance as described herein.The actuation portion 324 may be configured to return to an idle or restposition (e.g., as shown in FIG. 9) after being actuated. In thisregard, the actuation portion 324 may be configured to operate as atoggle control of the control unit 320.

The remote control device 300 may be configured to transmit one or morewireless communication signals (e.g., RF signals 108) to one or morecontrol devices (e.g., the control devices of the load control system100, such as the controllable light source 110). The remote controldevice 300 may include a wireless communication circuit, for example anRF transceiver or transmitter (not shown), via which one or morewireless communication signals may be sent and/or received. The controlunit 320 may be configured to transmit digital messages (e.g., includingcommands) in response to operation of the rotating portion 322 and/orthe actuation portion 324. The digital messages may be transmitted toone or more devices associated with the remote control device 300, suchas the controllable light source 110. For example, the control unit 320may be configured to transmit a command via one or more RF signals 108to raise the intensity of the controllable light source 110 in responseto a clockwise rotation of the rotating portion 322 and a command tolower the intensity of the controllable light source in response to acounterclockwise rotation of the rotating portion 322. Further, thecontrol unit 320 may be configured to transmit a command via one or moreRF signals 108 based on a point actuation or gesture detected via thetouch sensitive element.

The control unit 320 may be configured to transmit a command to togglethe controllable light source 110 (e.g., from off to on or vice versa)in response to an actuation of the actuation portion 324. In addition,the control unit 320 may be configured to transmit a command to turn thecontrollable light source 110 on in response to an actuation of theactuation portion 324 (e.g., if the control unit 320 knows that thecontrollable light source 110 is presently off). The control unit 320may be configured to transmit a command to turn the controllable lightsource 110 off in response to an actuation of the actuation portion 324(e.g., if the control unit 320 knows that the controllable light source110 is presently on).

The remote control device 300 may be configured to detect a low batterycondition and provide an indication of the condition such that a usermay be alerted to replace the battery 360. For example, the remotecontrol device 300 may be configured to provide an indication of alow-battery condition in a similar manner as the remote control device200 discussed above.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the light bar 326 may be attached to theactuation portion 324 around a periphery of the actuation portion 324.The actuation portion 324 may be received within the opening 370 of therotating portion 322 and may float freely in the opening 370 and/orrotate with the rotating portion 322. When the actuation portion 324 isreceived within the opening 370 of the rotating portion 322, the lightbar 326 may be located between the actuation portion 324 and therotating portion 322 such that the light bar 326 is visible to a user ofthe remote control device 300.

The PCB 364 may include a mechanical tactile switch 382 that may bemounted to a front-facing surface of the PCB 364. A control circuit (notshown) of the control unit 320 may be mounted to the PCB 364, forexample to the one or both of the front-facing and rear-facing surfaces.As shown, the control unit 320 may include a plurality of light-emittingdiodes (LEDs) 388 arranged around a perimeter of the PCB 364. The LEDs388 may be configured to illuminate the light bar 326.

The control unit 320 may include a carrier 372 that is configured tocarry one or more components of the control unit 320, such as the PCB364. For example, as shown the PCB 364 may be attached to the carrier372 via snap-fit connectors 374. The carrier 372 may include a pluralityof tabs 376 arranged around a circumference of the carrier 372. The tabs376 may be configured to be received within corresponding channels 378defined by the rotating portion 322, to thereby couple the rotatingportion 322 to the carrier 372 and allow for rotation of the rotatingportion 322 around the carrier 372. As shown, the carrier 372 may definethe recesses 315. When the control unit 320 is connected to the baseportion 310, the snap-fit connectors 314 of the base portion 310 may bereceived in the recesses 315 of the carrier 372. The carrier 372 and thePCB 364 may remain fixed in position relative to the base portion 310 asthe rotating portion 322 is rotated around the carrier 372. When thecontrol unit 320 is attached to the base portion 310, a portion of thetoggle actuator 304 of the light switch 302 may be received in theactuator opening 366 of the PCB 364, such that the rotating portion 322rotates about the toggle actuator 304 when operated.

The control unit 320 may include a resilient return spring 380 that maybe located between the actuation portion 324 and the PCB 364. The returnspring 380 may be configured to be attached to the PCB 364. As shown inFIG. 15, the actuation portion 324 may define a projection 384 thatextends rearward from an inner surface of the actuation portion 324.When a force is applied to the actuation portion 324 (e.g., when theactuation portion 324 is pressed by a user of the remote control device300), the actuation portion 324, and thus the light bar 326, may move inthe direction Z until the projection 384 actuates the mechanical tactileswitch 382. The return spring 380 may compress under application of theforce. When application of the force is ceased (e.g., the user no longerpresses the actuation portion 324), the return spring 380 maydecompress, thereby to biasing the actuation portion 324 forward suchthat the actuation portion 324 abuts a rim 386 of the rotating portion322. In this regard, the return spring 380 may operate to return theactuation portion 324 from an activated (e.g., pressed) position to arest position.

The control unit 320 may include a magnetic strip 390 that may bedisposed along an inner surface 392 of the rotating portion 322. Themagnetic strip 390 may extend around an inner circumference of therotating portion 322. The control unit 320 may include one or morerotational sensors 394A, 394B that may be mounted on the PCB 364. Forexample, the rotational sensors 394A, 394B may each comprise a HallEffect sensor integrated circuit. The magnetic strip 390 may include aplurality of alternating positive and negative sections, and therotational sensors 394A, 394B may be operable to detect passing of thepositive and negative sections of the magnetic strip 390 as the rotatingportion 322 is rotated about the carrier 372. The control circuit of thecontrol unit 320 may be configured to determine a rotational speedand/or direction of rotation of the rotating portion 322 in response tothe rotational sensors 394A, 394B. Each rotational sensor 394A, 394B maybe located adjacent to one or more magnetic flux pipe structures 396A,396B, 398A, 398B. Each magnetic flux pipe structure 396A, 396B, 398A,398B may be configured to conduct and direct respective magnetic fieldsgenerated by the magnetic strip 390 toward corresponding rotationalsensors 394A, 394B. As shown, the magnetic flux pipe structures 396A,396B may be connected to the carrier 372 and the magnetic flux pipestructures 398A, 398B may be mounted to the PCB 364. Although describedwith reference to a magnetic strip 390, the control unit 320 may includea magnetic ring.

The control unit 320 may be attached to the base portion 310 in aplurality of orientations. As such, the control unit 320 may comprise anorientation sensing circuit (not shown in FIGS. 9-15), such that thecontrol unit 320 is configured to determine an orientation of thecontrol unit 320. For example, through the use of the orientationsensing circuit, the control circuit 320 may determine its orientationrelative to the space where it is installed (e.g., based on gravity)and/or its orientation relative to another component, such as the baseportion 310, light switch 302, etc. For example, the control unit 320may be configured to determine whether the control unit 320 is attachedto the base portion 310 in a first orientation in which the actuatoropening 366 of the PCB 364 of the control unit 320 is aligned with thefirst opening 312A of the base 311 of the base portion 310, or isattached to the base portion 310 in a second orientation in which theactuator opening 366 is aligned with the second opening 312B of the baseportion 310.

The control unit 320 may, for example, determine (e.g., automaticallydetermine) the orientation of the control unit 320 relative to the baseportion 310 upon the control unit 320 being mounted to the base portion310. For example, the control unit may automatically determine theorientation of the control unit 320 relative to the base portion 310upon the control unit 320 being mounted to the base portion 310 withoutany user input. Alternatively or additionally, the control unit 320 maydetermine the orientation of the control unit 320 relative to the baseportion 310 each time the control unit 320 wakes up from an off or sleepstate (e.g., upon detecting a user actuation via the touch sensitiveelement and/or receiving a signal from an external device).

The orientation sensing circuit may comprise a switch (e.g., a portionof a switch or the entirety of a switch), such as one or more electricalcontacts, a tactile switch, a gravity switch, a mercury switch, a balland LED sensor switch, and/or the like. Alternatively or additionally,the orientation sensing circuit may comprise an optocoupler (e.g., whichmay include an LED, such as an infra-red (IR) LED, and a photodiode), aninductive sensor, a photosensitive device (e.g., a photodiode), ahall-effect sensor circuit (e.g., or a reed switch), an accelerometer, agyroscope, the wireless communication circuit of the remote controldevice 300, and/or other components of the control unit 320. Further,the orientation sensing circuit may be configured such that anorientation of the control unit 320 may be determined (e.g., specified)during a configuration process of the control unit 320, for instancewhen pairing the remote control device 300 to a load control system(e.g., as described with reference to FIGS. 35 and 36).

As noted above, the orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 320may include a gravity switch or a mercury switch. In such examples, thegravity switch or mercury switch may be configured to be in a closedposition when the control unit 320 is connected to the adapter plate 310in the first orientation, and in an open position when the control unit320 is connected to the adapter plate 310 in the second orientation.Accordingly, the control unit 320 may be configured to determine theorientation of the control unit 320 with respect to the base portion 310based on whether the gravity switch or mercury switch is in the open orclosed position.

FIGS. 16 and 17 are perspective views of the base portion 310 of theremote control device 300 with the inclusion of a protrusion 343 and atactile switch 365. The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit320 may include the tactile switch 365, and the base portion 310 mayinclude the protrusion 343. The protrusion 343 may be configured toactuate the tactile switch 365 when the control unit 320 is attached tothe base portion 310 in the first orientation, but not actuate thetactile switch 365 when the control unit 320 is attached to the baseportion 310 in the second orientation. As such, the control unit 320 maybe configured to determine its orientation with respect to the baseportion 310 based on whether or not the tactile switch 365 is actuated.

FIGS. 18 and 19 are perspective views of the base portion 310 of theremote control device 300 with the inclusion of a magnet 347 and ahall-effect sensor circuit 367. The orientation sensing circuit of thecontrol unit 320 may include the hall-effect sensor circuit 367, and thebase portion 310 may include the magnet 347. When the magnet 347 andhall-effect sensing circuit 367 are aligned, the hall-effect sensingcircuit 367 may detect an electromagnetic field of the magnet 347 andprovide feedback to the control circuit of the control unit 320. Forinstance, the magnet 347 and hall-effect sensor circuit 367 may bealigned when the control unit 320 is attached to the base portion 310 ina first orientation, but not aligned when the control unit 320 isattached to the base portion 310 in a second orientation. Accordingly,the control unit 320 may be configured to determine the orientation ofthe control unit 320 with respect to the base portion 310 based onwhether or not the control unit 320 receives a signal from thehall-effect sensing circuit 367 indicating that the magnet 347 andhall-effect sensing circuit 367 are aligned. In some examples, thehall-effect sensor circuit may include a multi-axis hall-effect sensor(e.g., a three-axis hall-effect sensor). The multi-axis hall-effectsensor may allow the orientation sensing circuit to detect orientationsare a variety of degrees of angle, such as a 15° angle, a 30° angle, a45° angle, a 60° angle, a 75° angle, etc.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 320 may include aphotosensitive device, such as a photodiode, that is configured todetect light that is originates external to the remote control device300 (e.g., ambient light) and/or internal to the remote control device300 (e.g., light from the LEDs 388). For example, the remote controldevice 300 (e.g., the control unit 320 and/or the base portion 310) mayinclude one or more of a blocking element (e.g., opaque material) orguiding element (e.g., a notch, channel, a component made from atranslucent material, a reflective component, etc.). If the remotecontrol device 300 includes a blocking element, then the blockingelement may block light (e.g., internal or external light) from reachingthe photosensitive device when the control unit 320 is in the secondorientation, but not block light when the control unit 320 is in thefirst orientation (e.g., allow light to reach the photosensitivedevice). Similarly, if the remote control device 300 includes a guidingelement, then the guiding element may allow light (e.g., internal orexternal light) to reach the photosensitive device when the control unit320 is in the first orientation, but not allow light to reach thephotosensitive device when the control unit 320 is in the secondorientation. Therefore, the control unit 320 may be configured todetermine whether the control unit 320 is attached to the base portion310 in a first orientation or a second orientation based on whether ornot the photosensitive device detects light.

FIGS. 20 and 21 are perspective views of the control unit 320 and thebase portion 310 of the remote control device 300 with the inclusion ofa photosensitive device 369 (e.g., a photodiode) and a notch 368 (e.g.,or channel). The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 320 mayinclude the photosensitive device 369, and the base portion 310 and/orfaceplate 360 may include the notch 368. The photosensitive device 369and the notch 368 are configured to align when the control unit 320 isattached to the base portion 310 in the first orientation, but not alignwhen the control unit 310 is attached to the base portion 310 in thesecond orientation. The notch 368 may define an opening through the baseportion 310 to allow light (e.g., ambient light) to pass through thebase portion 310 to the photosensitive device 369. Accordingly, thephotosensitive device 369 may be configured to detect light through thenotch 368 when the control unit 320 is attached to the base portion 310in the first orientation, but not detect light through the notch 368when the control unit 310 is attached to the base portion 310 in thesecond orientation. Therefore, the control unit 310 may be configured todetermine whether the control unit 320 is attached to the base portion310 in a first orientation or a second orientation based on whether ornot the photosensitive device 369 detects light. Alternatively oradditionally, the photosensitive device 369 may be configured to detectlight (e.g., light from the LEDs 388, light from another LED specificfor this purpose, etc.) that does not pass through the notch 368 (e.g.,passes through another notch or channel, through a component made oftranslucent material, etc.).

As noted above, the orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 320may include a switch that includes an electrical contact. In someexamples, the base portion 310 may include a second contact that is usedto close the switch. For example, the control unit 320 may determine theorientation of the control unit 320 with respect to the base portion 310based on whether or not the first and second contacts are in electricalcommunication, where the contacts may be in electrical communicationwith one another when the control unit 320 is in the first orientation(e.g., the switch is closed and/or the switch is conductive), but not inelectrical communication with one another when the control unit 320 isin the second orientation (e.g., the switch is open and/or the switch isnon-conductive). For example, the first and second electrical contactsmay be similar to the electrical contact pad and shorting memberdescribed with reference to FIGS. 2-8.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 320 may include aball and an LED sensor (not shown), which may operate as a switch. Whenthe control unit 320 is attached to the base portion 310 in the firstorientation, the ball may be configured to block the LED sensor, therebyclosing the switch. Conversely, when the control unit 320 is attached tothe base portion 310 in the second orientation, the ball may not blockthe LED sensor, and the switch may remain open. As such, the controlunit 310 may be configured to determine whether the control unit 320 isattached to the base portion 310 in the first orientation or the secondorientation based on whether the ball and LED sensor is in an open orclosed position.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 320 may include aninductive sensor that is configured to detect a presence of metal on thecontrol unit 320 or the base portion 310. For example, the inductivesensor may be configured to detect the presence of metal on the controlunit 320 (e.g., a trace of coil on a PCB of the control unit) when thecontrol unit 320 is attached to the base portion 310 in the firstorientation, but not detect the presence of metal on the control unit320 when the control unit 320 is attached to the base portion 310 in thesecond orientation. For instance, the base portion 310 may include apiece of metal on one end/side but not the other, such that theinductive sensor is configured to detect the presence of the metalresiding on the base portion 310 when the control unit 320 is attachedto the base portion 310 in the first orientation, but not detect thepresence of the metal when the control unit 320 is attached to the baseportion 310 in the second orientation. In some examples, the baseportion 310 may include a shielding element (e.g., a plastic flange)(not shown) that is situated between the inductive sensor and the metalof the control unit 320 when the control unit 320 is in the secondorientation, but is not situated between the inductive sensor and themetal of the control unit 320 when the control unit 320 is in the firstorientation.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 320 may include anaccelerometer (not shown), and the control unit 320 may be configured todetermine the orientation of the control unit 320 with respect to thebase portion 310 based on feedback from the accelerometer. For instance,the accelerometer may be configured to sense orientation based on adirection of weight change, which for example, may be different when thecontrol unit 320 is attached to the base portion 310 in the firstorientation than it is when the control unit 320 is attached to theadapter in the second orientation. Accordingly, the control unit 320 maybe configured to determine the orientation of the control unit 320 withrespect to the base portion 310 based on feedback from theaccelerometer.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 320 may include amanually operated switch. As such, the remote control device 300 may beconfigured to receive a user input controlling the orientation (e.g.,setting or switching the orientation) of the control unit 320 withrespect to the base portion 310 via the manually operated switch.

The orientation sensing circuit of the control unit 320 may include oneor more of the control circuit of the remote control device 300, the PCB364 (e.g., the touch sensitive element of the PCB 364), the wirelesscommunication circuit of the remote control device 300, and/or othercomponents of the control unit 320. For instance, the orientationsensing circuit may be configured such that the control circuit of thecontrol unit 320 is configured to receive an indication of theorientation of the control unit 320 during a configuration mode of thecontrol unit 320. For example, the control circuit may receive theindication of the orientation of the control unit 320 by way of a uniqueuser input via the user interface of the control unit 320 and/or via anexternal device (e.g., a smartphone or tablet). In such examples, thecontrol unit 320 may be placed into the configuration mode using aunique user input via the user interface of the control unit 320 and/orvia an external device.

Once in the configuration mode, the control unit 320 may be configuredto perform one or more advanced functions, such as orientationdetermination, pairing of the remote control device 300 to a loadcontrol system (e.g., pairing the remote control device 300 to one ormore electrical loads, such as lighting loads), configuring controlsettings for one or more electrical loads (e.g., presets, scenesettings, and/or the like), etc. For example, once in the configurationmode, the control unit 320 may be configured to receive the orientationof the control unit 320 from a mobile application residing on anexternal device. The external device may determine the orientation ofthe control unit 320 based on user input via the external device orbased on feedback determined by the external device (e.g., via use of acamera of the external device, for example, as described with referenceto FIG. 36), and the control unit 320 may receive information indicationthe orientation from the external device (e.g., via the wirelesscommunication circuit of the control unit 320). For example, once in theorientation mode, the control unit 320 may receive a user input (e.g.,gesture, point actuation, etc.) that indicates and sets the orientationof the control unit 320.

In some examples, the control unit 320 may be configured to be paired tothe load control system and/or determine the orientation of the controlunit 320 using a camera of an external device. For example, the controlunit 320 may be configured to illuminate the LEDs 388 of the controlunit 320 in a unique pattern to communicate an identification of thecontrol unit (e.g., used for pairing the remote control device 300 tothe load control system) to the camera of the external device and/or tocommunication the orientation of the control unit 320 to the camera ofthe external device. As such, the external device may be configured todetermine the orientation of the control unit 320 using the camera ofthe external device, and the control unit 320 may be configured toreceive the orientation of the control unit 320 from the external devicevia the communication circuit.

After the control unit 320 determines the orientation of the controlunit 320 with respect to the base portion 310, the control unit 320 maytranslate a user input received via the user interface (e.g., thecapacitive touch circuit) into control data for controlling for one ormore electrical loads based on the orientation of the control unit 320.That is, the control unit 320 may be configured to generate control databased on the orientation of the control unit 320. With knowledge of theorientation of the control unit 320, the control unit 320 can determinethe relative location and/or direction of the user input with respect tothe user (e.g., which is based on the orientation that the control unit320 with respect to the adapter). For example, the control unit 320 candetermine whether a user input is intended to turn an electrical load onor off, increase or decrease power delivered to the electrical load(e.g., an intensity of a lighting load), cycle through presets and/orscenes of the remote control device, and/or the like based on theorientation of the control unit 320. The user interface of the controlunit 320 may be symmetric, for example, about a horizontal axis and/or avertical axis.

The control circuit of the control unit 320 may be configured to causethe wireless communication circuit to transmit respective controlsignals that include the generated control data that corresponds tointerpreted user inputs received at the touch sensitive surface. Forexample, the remote control device 300 may be operable to transmitwireless signals, for example radio frequency (RF) signals, to a loadcontrol device, one or more electrical loads, and/or a central processorof a load control system. The remote control device 300 may beassociated with the load control device and the one or more electricalloads during a configuration procedure of the load control system. Anexample of a configuration procedure for associating a remote controldevice with a load control device is described in greater detail incommonly-assigned U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0111491, publishedMay 15, 2008, entitled “Radio-Frequency Lighting Control System,” theentire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The control circuit may provide an indication (e.g., a visualindication) of an amount of power delivered to the electrical load bythe remote control device 300 based on the orientation of the controlunit 320. For example, the control circuit may use determination of theorientation of the control unit 320 relative to the base portion 310 todetermine which location of the light bar should correspond to ahigh-end intensity (e.g., approximately 100% intensity) and whichlocation of the light bar should correspond to a low-end intensity(e.g., approximately 1% intensity), for example, when displaying anindication of the amount of power delivered to an electrical load. Thecontrol unit 320 may be configured to, based on the determination oforientation, illuminate one or more of the LEDs 388 such that thehigh-end intensity corresponds to the ending point 358 of the light barand such that the low-end intensity corresponds to the starting point356 of the light bar. In this regard, the control unit 320 may ensureproper indication of the high-end and low-end intensities via the LEDs388 regardless of whether the control unit 320 is mounted to the baseportion 310 in the first orientation or the second orientation.

FIGS. 22-31 depict another example remote control device 400 (e.g., abattery-powered remote control device) that may be deployed as theremote control device 120 of the load control system 100 shown inFIG. 1. The remote control device 400 may be configured to be mountedover a paddle actuator of a standard light switch, such as the paddleactuator 404 of a standard decorator paddle style light switch 402 shownin FIG. 22. As shown, the paddle actuator 404 may be surrounded by abezel portion 405. The light switch 402 may include a faceplate 406. Thefaceplate 406 may define an opening 408 (e.g., a decorator-type opening)that extends therethrough. The faceplate 406 may be mounted viafaceplate screws 409, for instance to a yoke of the switch 402. Thestandard light switch 402 may be coupled in series electrical connectionbetween an alternating current (AC) power source and one or moreelectrical loads.

As shown, the remote control device 400 may include a base portion 412and an actuation portion 410 that is configured to be mounted to thebase portion 412. As such, and although not shown, the actuation portion410 may be releasably attachable to the base portion 412, such that thebase portion 412 acts as the mounting structure for the actuationportion 410, for example. Alternatively, the actuation portion 410 maybe monolithic with the base portion 412. The actuation portion 410 mayinclude an actuator 411. The actuator 411 may comprise a front surface414 that defines a user interface of the actuation portion 410. Asshown, the actuator 411 may be configured such that the front surface414 includes an upper portion 416 and a lower portion 418. The actuationportion 410 may include a light bar 420 that is configured to visiblydisplay information at the front surface 414. The user interface of theactuator 411 may be symmetric, for example, about a horizontal axisand/or a vertical axis.

The actuation portion 410 may be configured for mechanical actuation ofthe actuator 411. For example, the actuator 411 may be supported about apivot axis P1 that extends laterally between the upper and lowerportions 416, 418. The actuation portion 410 may include mechanicalswitches 460 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 25) disposed in respective interiorportions of the actuator 411 that correspond to the upper and lowerportions 416, 418 of the front surface 414. Actuations of the upperportion 416 of the front surface 414, for example via the application ofa force to the upper portion 416 (e.g., resulting from a finger press)may cause the actuator 411 to rotate about the pivot axis P1 such thatthe upper portion 416 moves inward towards the base portion 412 andactuates a corresponding mechanical switch 460. Actuations of the lowerportion 418 of the front surface 414, for example via the application ofa force to the lower portion 418 (e.g., resulting from a finger press)may cause the actuator 411 to rotate about the pivot axis P1 such thatthe lower portion 418 moves inward towards the base portion 412 andactuates a corresponding mechanical switch 460. The actuation portion410 may be configured such that actuations of actuator 411 are tactileactuations. For instance, actuations of the actuator 411 may providetactile feedback to a user of the remote control device 400. Theactuator 411 may be configured to resiliently reset to a rest positionafter actuations of the upper and lower portions 416, 418.

The remote control device 400 may transmit commands to one or morecontrollable electrical loads (e.g., one or more lighting loads that areassociated with the remote control device 400) in response to actuationsapplied to the actuation portion 410, for instance via the actuator 411.For example, the remote control device 400 may transmit commands to turnon one or more associated lighting loads in response to actuationsapplied to the upper portion 416 of the front surface 414, and maytransmit commands to turn off one or more lighting loads in response toactuations applied to the lower portion 418 of the front surface 414(e.g., when the remote control device 400 is in the first orientation).In accordance with an example implementation, the remote control device400 may be configured to transmit commands in response to receivingpredetermined actuations at the actuation portion (e.g., via theactuator 411). For example, the remote control device 400 may beconfigured to transmit a command to turn one or more associated lightingloads on to full (e.g., 100% intensity) in response to a double tapapplied to the upper portion 416 of the front surface 414 (e.g., twoactuations applied to the upper portion 416 in quick succession). Theremote control device 400 may be configured to transmit a command toperform a relative adjustment of intensity (e.g., relative to a startingintensity) in response to respective press and hold actuations appliedto the upper and/or lower portions 416, 418 of the front surface 414.For example, the remote control device 400 may the respectiveintensities of one or more associated lighting loads to continually beadjusted (e.g., relative to corresponding starting intensities) whileone of the upper or lower portions 416, 418 is continuously actuated.

The front surface 414 of the actuator 411 may further be configured as atouch sensitive surface (e.g., which may include or define a capacitivetouch surface). The touch sensitive surface may extend into portions ofboth the upper and lower surfaces 416, 418 of the front surface 414. Forexample, the actuation portion 410 may include a capacitive touchcircuit (e.g., the capacitive touch circuit 240 of the control unit 230)that may be responsive to user inputs via the capacitive touch surfaceon the front surface 414 of the actuator 411. This may allow theactuation portion 410 (e.g., the actuator 411) to receive and recognizeactuations (e.g., touches) of the front surface 414 that are not tactileactuations, for instance that do not cause the actuator 411 to move atall or to move such that the respective mechanical switches 460 thatcorrespond to the upper and lower portions 416, 418 are not actuated.The remote control device 400 may be configured such that suchactuations of the front surface 414 of the actuator 411 do not providetactile feedback. For example, such actuations of the front surface 414(e.g., adjacent the light bar 420) may cause the remote control device400 to transmit commands to adjust the intensity of a lighting load thatis associated with the remote control device 400. Examples of suchactuations are point actuations and gestures, for example, as describedherein (e.g., with reference to FIG. 1).

To illustrate, the remote control device 400 may be configured such thatwhen a user of the remote control device 400 touches the light bar 420at a location along a length of the light bar 420, the lighting load beset to an intensity that is dependent upon the location of the actuationalong the light bar 420. The remote control device 400 may be configuredsuch that when a user slides a finger along the light bar 420, theintensity of an associated lighting load may be raised or loweredaccording to the position of the finger along the length of the lightbar 420. In response to a touch received on the front surface 414 (e.g.,adjacent the light bar 420) the light bar 420 may be configured toilluminate along a length that extends from the bottom of the light bar420 to a position along the length of the light bar 420. The length ofsuch an illumination (e.g., as defined by an amount of the light bar 420that is illuminated) may correspond to and be indicative of an intensityof an associated lighting load that results from the actuation.

The remote control device 400 may be configured to, if more than oneactuation is received via the actuator 411 within a short interval oftime (e.g., at substantially the same time), determine which actuationshould be responded to, for example by transmitting a command, and whichactuation or actuations may be ignored. To illustrate, a user of theremote control device 400 may press the front surface 414 at a locationproximate to the light bar 420, with sufficient force such that theactuator 411 pivots about the pivot axis and activates a correspondingone of the mechanical switches 460. Such an operation of the actuator411 may comprise multiple actuations of the actuation portion 410. Forinstance, the location of the press of the front surface 414 along thelight bar 420 may correspond to an indication of a desired intensitylevel of an associated lighting load, while the actuation of themechanical switch 460 may be correspond to an indication by the user toturn on the lighting load to a last-known intensity. The remote controldevice 400 may be configured to in response to such actuations, ignorethe capacitive touch input indication of intensity, and to transmit acommand to the associated lighting load to turn on at the last-knownintensity. It should be appreciated that the above is merely oneillustration of how the remote control device 400 may be configured torespond to multiple such multi-part actuations of the actuation portion410.

In accordance with the illustrated actuator 411, the upper portion 416and the lower portion 418 of the front surface 414 define respectiveplanar surfaces that are angularly offset relative to each other. Inthis regard, the touch-responsive portion of the front surface 414 ofthe actuator 411 may define and operate as a non-planar slider controlof the remote control device 400. However, it should be appreciated thatthe actuator 411 is not limited to the illustrated geometry defining theupper and lower portions 416, 418. For example, the actuator may beconfigured to define a front surface having any suitabletouch-responsive geometry, for instance such as a curved or wave-shapedtouch sensitive surface.

FIGS. 26-31 depict the example remote control device 400, with theremote control device 400 unmounted from the light switch 402. Theaction portion 410 may include a carrier 430. For example, the carrier430 that may be configured to be attached to a rear surface of theactuation portion 410. The carrier 430 may support a flexible printedcircuit board (PCB) 432 on which a control unit (not shown) and/or awireless communication circuit (not shown) may be mounted. The controlunit may be in electrical communication with the capacitive touchcircuit, and the wireless communication circuit may be in electricalcommunication with the control unit. The flexible PCB 432 may beconfigured such that the capacitive touch circuit is spaced from thecontrol unit, the wireless communication circuit, and/or other “noisy”circuitry of the flexible PCB 432. This may improve operationalefficiency of the capacitive touch circuit.

The remote control device 400 may include a battery 434 for powering thecontrol unit. The battery 434 may be received within a battery opening436 defined by the carrier 430. The remote control device 400 mayinclude a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that may be mountedto the PCB 432. The LEDs may be arranged to illuminate the light bar420. For example, the LEDs may be arranged in a linear array.

The actuator 411 may be pivotally coupled to, or supported by, the baseportion 412. For example, as shown the base portion 412 may definecylindrical protrusions 440 that extend outward from opposed sidewalls442 of the base portion 412. The protrusions 440 may be received withinopenings 444 that extend into rear surfaces of corresponding sidewalls446 of the actuator 411. The protrusions 440 may define the pivot axisP1 about which the actuator 411 may pivot. As shown, each protrusion 440may be held in place within a corresponding opening 444 by a respectivehinge plate (e.g., thin metal hinge plates). Each hinge plate may beconnected to the rear surface of a respective sidewall 446, for examplevia heat stakes. The hinge plates may be thin to maximize a distancebetween the hinge plate and the bezel portion 405 of the light switch402.

The flexible PCB 432 may be located immediately behind the front surface414 of the actuation portion 410 and may include the capacitive touchcircuit. For example, the flexible PCB 432 may include capacitive touchtraces such that the front surface 414 defines a capacitive touchsurface. Actuations applied to the upper and lower portions 416, 418 ofthe front surface 414 of the actuation portion 410 may also providetactile feedback, for instance as described herein. The remote controldevice 400 may include one or more mechanical tactile switches 460(e.g., side-actuating tactile switches) that may be mounted to andelectrically coupled to the flexible PCB 432. For example, the remotecontrol device 400 may include a first mechanical tactile switch 460that is mounted so as to be activated by an actuation applied to theupper portion 416 of the front surface 414 and a second mechanicaltactile switch 460 that is mounted so as to be activated by an actuationapplied to the lower portion 418 of the front surface 414. Themechanical tactile switches 460 may be positioned such that respectiveactuation portions of the mechanical tactile switches 460 are positionedproximate to corresponding contact surfaces 462 defined by the baseportion 412. Each mechanical tactile switch 460 may include a foot 464that is captively retained in a corresponding opening of the actuator411.

The flexible PCB 432 may bend towards the locations in which themechanical tactile switches 460 are located. In accordance with theillustrated configuration, when a force is applied to the lower portion418 of the front surface 414 that causes the lower portion 418 to pivotinward about the pivot axis P1 towards the base portion 412, theactuation portion of the corresponding mechanical tactile switch 460 maymake contact with the contact surface 462, thereby causing activation ofthe mechanical tactile switch 460. The mechanical tactile switch 460 mayoperate to return the actuator 411 to a rest position. Return of theactuator 411 to the rest position may provide tactile feedbackindicative of activation of the mechanical tactile switch 460. Themechanical tactile switch 460 may be electrically coupled to the controlunit on the flexible PCB 432, such that the control unit is responsiveto the actuation of the mechanical tactile switch 460.

The mechanical tactile switches 460 may not be electrically coupled tothe flexible PCB 432 and may operate merely to provide tactile feedbackresponsive to actuations of the actuator 411. In such an implementation,the control unit (e.g., via the capacitive touch circuit) may beresponsive to the capacitive touch surface of the front surface 414 todetermine a location of an actuation, for instance to determine whetherthe upper portion 416 or the lower portion 418 of the front surface 414was actuated. Further, the mechanical tactile switches 460 may becoupled to the base portion 412 rather than the actuator 411 forproviding tactile feedback.

The actuation portion 324 of the remote control device 300 shown inFIGS. 9-21 may be configured to pivot about a pivot axis to allow foractuations of upper and lower portions (e.g., to turn the controlledelectrical load(s) on and off, respectively). The remote control device300 may include mechanical tactile switches to provide tactile feedbackin response to actuations of the upper and lower portions of theactuation portion 324. In addition, the remote control device 300 may beconfigured to raise and lower the intensity of the controlled lightingload in response to actuations of the upper and lower portions,respectively. As noted herein, the actuation portion may include atouch-sensitive circuit (e.g., a capacitive touch circuit) for receivingactuations (e.g., point actuations, gestures, etc.).

The remote control device 400 may include a mounting structure that isconfigured to enable attachment of the remote control device 400 to astandard light switch, such as the standard decorator style light switch402 shown in FIG. 22. For example, the remote control device 400 mayinclude a mounting structure that enables attachment of the remotecontrol device 400 to the light switch 402. The base portion 412 may,for example, operate as a mounting structure for the remote controldevice 400. For instance, the base portion 412 that includes a pluralityof extensions 470 (e.g., thin flat planar extensions) that protrudeoutward from the base portion 412 and enable attachment of the remotecontrol device 400 to the light switch 402. The actuation portion 410may be configured to be attached to the base portion 412, for example,after the base portion 412 is attached to the light switch 402. As such,and although not shown, the base portion 412 may be detachable from theactuation portion 410. Alternatively, the actuation portion 410 may bemonolithic with the base portion 412, for example, such that theactuation portion 410 and base portion 412 are configured to be attachedto the light switch 402 as a singular unit.

The extensions 470 may be configured to be disposed into a gap 472defined between the bezel portion 405 and the opening 408 of thefaceplate 406 of the light switch 402. The extensions 470 may operate tomaintain the remote control device 400 in a mounted position relative tothe light switch 402, for example such that the base portion 412 abutscorresponding portions of the faceplate 406. Each extension 470 may beconfigured to allow insertion of the extension 470 into the gap 472 andto resist removal of the extensions from the gap 472 once the remotecontrol device 400 is secured in a mounted position relative to thelight switch. For example, as shown each extension 470 may define aplurality of barbs 474. The barbs 474 may be configured as spring-stylebarbs that are configured to deflect and slide along structure of thefaceplate 406 as the extensions 470 are inserted into the gap 472 alonga first direction, and to bite into surrounding structure of thefaceplate 406 when pulled in an opposed second direction to hinderremoval of the remote control device 400 from the light switch 402.

As shown in FIG. 27, the base portion 412 may include extensions 470that extend along each side of the base portion 412. However, it shouldbe appreciated that the remote control device 400 is not limited to theillustrated number or configurations of extensions 470. For example, themounting structure of the remote control device 400 may includeextensions 470 along two sides (e.g., opposing sides) of the baseportion 412, or may include extensions 470 along three sides of the baseportion 412. The remote control device 300 shown in FIGS. 9-21 may beprovided with extensions (e.g., similarly configured to extensions 470)that are configured to be disposed into a gap between the faceplate 306and the toggle actuator 304.

The actuation portion 410 may comprise an orientation sensing circuit(not shown), such that the control unit of the remote control device 400is configured to determine an orientation of the actuation portion 410.For example, through the use of the orientation sensing circuit, theactuation portion 410 may determine its orientation relative to thespace where it is installed (e.g., based on gravity) and/or itsorientation relative to another component, such as the base portion 412,the light switch 402 etc. For example, the remote control device 400 maybe configured to determine whether the actuation portion 410 is attachedto the base portion 412 in a first orientation in which the upperportion 416 of the actuator 410 is located closer to an upper end of thelight switch 402 (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 22-31), or is attached to thebase portion 412 in a second orientation in which the upper portion 416of the actuator 410 is located closer to a lower end of the light switch402.

The remote control device 400 may, for example, determine (e.g.,automatically determine) the orientation of the actuation portion 410relative to the base portion 412 upon the remote control device 400being mounted to the light switch 402. For example, the remote controldevice 400 may automatically determine the orientation of the actuationportion 410 relative to the base portion 412 upon the remote controldevice 400 being mounted to the light switch 402 without any user input.Alternatively or additionally, the remote control device 400 maydetermine the orientation of the actuation portion 410 relative to thebase portion 412 each time the remote control device 400 wakes up froman off or sleep state.

The orientation sensing circuit may comprise a switch (e.g., a portionof a switch or the entirety of a switch), such as one or more theelectrical contacts, a tactile switch, a gravity switch, a mercuryswitch, a ball and LED sensor switch, and/or the like. Alternatively oradditionally, the orientation sensing circuit may comprise anoptocoupler, an inductive sensor, a photosensitive device (e.g., aphotodiode), a hall-effect sensor circuit (e.g., or a reed switch), anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, the wireless communication circuit of theremote control device 400, and/or other components of the remote controldevice 400. Further, the orientation sensing circuit may be configuredsuch that an orientation of the remote control device 400 may bedetermined (e.g., specified) during a configuration process of theremote control device 400, for instance when pairing the remote controldevice 400 to a load control system (e.g., as described with referenceto FIGS. 35 and 36).

As noted above, the orientation sensing circuit may include a switchthat includes an electrical contact. In some examples, the base portion412 may include a second contact that is used to close the switch. Forexample, the control unit may determine the orientation of the actuationportion 410 with respect to the base portion 412 based on whether or notthe first and second contacts are in electrical communication, where thecontacts may be in electrical communication with one another when theactuation portion is attached to the base portion 412 in a firstorientation (e.g., the switch is closed and/or the switch isconductive), but not in electrical communication with one another whenthe actuation portion 410 is attached to the base portion 412 in asecond orientation (e.g., the switch is open and/or the switch isnon-conductive).

The orientation sensing circuit of the remote control device 400 mayinclude a gravity switch or a mercury switch. In such examples, thegravity switch or mercury switch may be configured to be in a closedposition when the remote control device 400 is connected to the lightswitch 402 in a first orientation, and in an open position when theremote control device 400 is connected to the light switch 402 in asecond orientation. Accordingly, the remote control device 400 may beconfigured to determine the orientation of the remote control device 400with respect to the light switch 402 based on whether the gravity switchor mercury switch is in the open or closed position.

The orientation sensing circuit may include a tactile switch, and thebase portion 412 may include a protrusion (not shown). For example, ifthe base portion 412 includes the protrusion, then the protrusion may beconfigured to actuate the tactile switch when the actuation portion 410is attached to the base portion 412 in the first orientation, but notactuate the tactile switch when the actuation portion 410 is attached tothe base portion 412 in the second orientation. As such, the controlunit may be configured to determine the orientation of the actuationportion 410 with respect to the base portion 412.

The orientation sensing circuit of the remote control device 400 mayinclude a ball and an LED sensor, which may operate as a switch. Whenthe actuation portion 410 is attached to the base portion 412 in thefirst orientation, the ball may be configured to block the LED sensor,thereby closing the switch. Conversely, when the actuation portion 410is attached to the base portion 412 in the second orientation, the ballmay not block the LED sensor, and the switch may remain open. As such,the remote control device 400 may be configured to determine whether theactuation portion 410 is attached to the base portion 412 in the firstorientation or the second orientation based on whether or not the balland LED sensor is in an open or closed position.

The orientation sensing circuit may include an inductive sensor that isconfigured to detect a presence of metal on the actuation portion 410and/or the base portion 412. For example, the inductive sensor may beconfigured to detect the presence of metal on the actuation portion 410(e.g., a trace of coil on the PCB 432) when the actuation portion 410 isattached to the base portion 412 in the first orientation, but notdetect the presence of metal on the action portion 410 when theactuation portion 410 is attached to the base portion 412 in the secondorientation. For instance, the base portion 412 may include a piece ofmetal on one end but not the other, such that the inductive sensor isconfigured to detect the presence of the metal residing on the baseportion 412 when the actuation portion 410 is attached to the baseportion 412 in the first orientation, but not detect the presence of themetal when the actuation portion 410 is attached to the base portion 412in the second orientation. In some examples, the base portion 412 mayinclude a shielding element (e.g., a plastic flange) (not shown) that issituated between the inductive sensor and the metal of the actuationportion 410 when the actuation portion 410 is attached in the secondorientation, but is not situated between the inductive sensor and themetal of the actuation portion 410 when the actuation portion 410 isattached in the first orientation.

The orientation sensing circuit of the actuation portion 410 may includea photosensitive device, such as a photodiode, that is configured todetect light that originates external to the remote control device 400(e.g., ambient light) and/or internal to the remote control device 400(e.g., light from the LEDs of the remote control device 400). Forexample, the remote control device 400 (e.g., the actuation portion 410and/or the base portion 412) may include one or more of a blockingelement (e.g., opaque material) or guiding element (e.g., a notch,channel, components made from a translucent material, a reflectivecomponent, etc.). If the remote control device 400 includes a blockingelement, then the blocking element may block light (e.g., internal orexternal light) from reaching the photosensitive device when theactuation portion 410 is in the second orientation, but not block lightwhen the actuation portion 410 is in the first orientation. Similarly,if the remote control device 400 includes a guiding element, then theguiding element may allow light (e.g., internal or external light) toreach the photosensitive device when the actuation portion 410 is in thefirst orientation, but not allow light to reach the photosensitivedevice when the actuation portion 410 is in the second orientation.Therefore, the actuation portion 410 may be configured to determinewhether the actuation portion 410 is attached to the base portion 412 ina first orientation or a second orientation based on whether or not thephotosensitive device detects light.

For example, the adapter 410 may include a notch or channel (not shown)that is configured to line up with the photosensitive device when theactuation portion 410 is attached to the base portion 412 in a firstorientation, but not line up with the photosensitive device when theactuation portion 410 is attached to the base portion 412 in a secondorientation. The notch or channel may define an opening through the baseportion 412 to allow light (e.g., ambient light, light from the LEDs246, light from an LED specific for this purpose, etc.) to pass throughthe base portion 412. According, the photosensitive device may beconfigured to detect light through the notch or channel when theactuation portion 410 is attached to the base portion 412 in the firstorientation, but not detect light through the notch or channel when theactuation portion 410 is attached to the base portion 412 in the secondorientation.

The orientation sensing circuit may include a hall-effect sensorcircuit, and the base portion 412 may include a magnet (not shown). Whenthe magnet and hall-effect sensing circuit are aligned, the hall-effectsensing circuit may detect an electromagnetic field of the magnet andprovide feedback to the control unit. For instance, the magnet andhall-effect sensor circuit may be aligned when actuation portion 410 isattached to the base portion 412 in the first orientation, but notaligned when the actuation portion 410 is attached to the base portion412 in the second orientation. Accordingly, the remote control device400 may be configured to determine the orientation of the actuationportion 410 is attached to the base portion 412 based on whether or notthe control unit receives a signal from the hall-effect sensing circuitindicating that magnet and hall-effect sensing circuit are aligned. Insome examples, the hall-effect sensor circuit may include a multi-axishall-effect sensor (e.g., a three-axis hall-effect sensor). Themulti-axis hall-effect sensor may allow the orientation sensing circuitto detect orientations are a variety of degrees of angle, such as a 15°angle, a 30° angle, a 45° angle, a 60° angle, a 75° angle, etc.

The orientation sensing circuit of the remote control device 400 mayinclude an accelerometer, and the remote control device 400 may beconfigured to determine the orientation of the remote control device 400with respect to the light switch 402 based on feedback from theaccelerometer. For instance, the accelerometer may be configured tosense orientation based on a direction of weight change, which forexample, may be different when the remote control device 400 is attachedto the light switch 402 in a first orientation than it is when theremote control device 400 is attached to the adapter in a secondorientation. Accordingly, the remote control device 400 may beconfigured to determine the orientation of the remote control device 400with respect to the light switch 402 based on feedback from theaccelerometer.

The orientation sensing circuit of the remote control device 400 mayinclude a manually operated switch. As such, the remote control device400 may be configured to receive a user input controlling theorientation (e.g., setting or switching the orientation) of the remotecontrol device 400 with respect to the light switch 402 via the manualswitch.

The orientation sensing circuit of the remote control device 400 mayinclude one or more of the control unit of the remote control device400, the PCB 432 (e.g., via the touch response surface), the wirelesscommunication circuit of the remote control device 400, and/or othercomponents of the remote control device 400. For instance, theorientation sensing circuit may be configured such that the control unitof the remote control device 400 is configured to receive an indicationof the orientation of the remote control device 400 during aconfiguration mode of the remote control device 400. For example, thecontrol unit may receive the indication of the orientation of the remotecontrol device 400 by way of a unique user input via the user interfaceof the remote control device 400 and/or via an external device (e.g., asmartphone or tablet). In such examples, the remote control device 400may be placed into the configuration mode using a unique user input viathe user interface of the remote control device 400 and/or via anexternal device.

Once in the configuration mode, the remote control device 400 may beconfigured to perform one or more advanced functions, such asorientation determination, pairing of the remote control device 400 to aload control system (e.g., pairing the remote control device 400 to oneor more electrical loads, such as lighting loads), configuring controlsettings for one or more electrical loads (e.g., presets, scenesettings, and/or the like), etc. For example, once in the configurationmode, the remote control device 400 may be configured to receive theorientation of the remote control device 400 from a mobile applicationresiding on an external device. The external device may determine theorientation of the remote control device 400 based on user input via theexternal device or based on feedback determined by the external device(e.g., via use of a camera of the external device, for example, asdescribed with reference to FIG. 36), and the remote control device 400may receive information indication the orientation from the externaldevice (e.g., via the wireless communication circuit of the remotecontrol device 400). For example, once in the orientation mode, theremote control device 400 may receive a user input (e.g., gesture, pointactuation, etc.) that indicates and sets the orientation of the remotecontrol device 400.

In some examples, the remote control device 400 may be configured to bepaired to the load control system and/or determine the orientation ofthe remote control device 400 using a camera of an external device. Forexample, the remote control device 400 may be configured to illuminatethe LEDs of the remote control device 400 in a unique pattern tocommunicate an identification of the control unit (e.g., used forpairing the remote control device 400 to the load control system) to thecamera of the external device and/or to communication the orientation ofthe remote control device 400 to the camera of the external device. Assuch, the external device may be configured to determine the orientationof the remote control device 400 using the camera of the externaldevice, and the remote control device 400 may be configured to receivethe orientation of the remote control device 400 from the externaldevice via the communication circuit.

After the remote control device 400 determines the orientation of theremote control device 400 with respect to the light switch 402, theremote control device 400 may translate a user input received via theuser interface (e.g., the capacitive touch circuit) into control datafor one or more electrical loads based on the orientation of the remotecontrol device 400. That is, the remote control device 400 may beconfigured to generate control data based on the orientation of theremote control device 400. With knowledge of the orientation of theremote control device 400, the remote control device 400 can determinethe relative location and/or direction of the user input with respect tothe user (e.g., which is based on the orientation that the remotecontrol device 400 with respect to the adapter). For example, the remotecontrol device 400 can determine whether a user input is intended toturn an electrical load on or off, increase or decrease power deliveredto the electrical load (e.g., an intensity of a lighting load), cyclethrough presets and/or scenes of the remote control device, and/or thelike based on the orientation of the remote control device 400.

The control unit of the remote control device 400 may be configured tocause the wireless communication circuit to transmit respective controlsignals that include the control data that corresponds to interpreteduser inputs received at the capacitive touch circuit. For example, theremote control device 400 may be operable to transmit wireless signals,for example RF signals, to a load control device, one or more electricalloads, and/or a central processor of a load control system. The remotecontrol device 400 may be associated with the load control device andthe one or more electrical loads during a configuration procedure of theload control system. An example of a configuration procedure forassociating a remote control device with a load control device isdescribed in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Patent PublicationNo. 2008/0111491, published May 15, 2008, entitled “Radio-FrequencyLighting Control System,” the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

The control unit may provide an indication (e.g., a visual indication)of an amount of power delivered to the electrical load by the remotecontrol device 400 based on the orientation of the remote control device400. For example, the control unit may use determination of theorientation of the remote control device 400 relative to the lightswitch 402 to determine which end of the array of LEDs should correspondto a high-end intensity (e.g., approximately 100% intensity) and whichend of the array of LEDs should correspond to a low-end intensity (e.g.,approximately 1% intensity), for example, when displaying an indicationof the amount of power delivered to an electrical load. The remotecontrol device 400 may be configured to, based on the determination oforientation, illuminate one or more of the LEDs such that the high-endintensity corresponds to an upper end of the LED array and such that thelow-end intensity corresponds to a lower end of the LED array. In thisregard, the remote control device 400 may ensure proper indication ofthe high-end and low-end intensities via the LEDs regardless of whetherthe remote control device 400 is mounted to the light switch 402 in thefirst orientation or the second orientation (e.g., based on whether theon position of the light switch 402 corresponds to the paddle actuator404 being placed in the up position or to the down position).

Any of the remote control devices described herein may be created as anintegrated, monolithic unit. For example, the adapter 210, the controlunit 230, and the faceplate 260 may be a single integrated unit of theremote control device 200; the base portion 310 and the control unit 320may be a single integrated unit of the remote control device 300; andthe base portion 412 and actuation portion 410 may be a single integrateunit of the remote control device 400. In such embodiments, the remotecontrol device may be configured to determine its relative orientationwith respect to the light switch and/or the faceplate. For example, theremote control device may be configured to be attached to light switchthrough the use of a plurality of extensions (e.g., thin flat planarextensions) that protrude outward from the remote control device (e.g.,similar to the extensions 470). Accordingly, after the remote controldevice is attached to the light switch, the remote control device may beconfigured to determine its relative orientation with respect to thelight switch and/or the faceplate, and, for example, generate controldata and/or provide feedback based on the orientation of the remotecontrol device. In such instances, the remote control device may includean orientation sensing circuit that includes any of the devicesdescribed herein, such as an accelerometer, gravity switches,gyroscopes, etc.

Any of the remote control devices described herein (e.g., the remotecontrol devices 200, 300, and/or 400) may be configured to be mounted onsurfaces and/or devices other than a standard wall-switch. For example,the remote control device may be configured to be mounted to a tabletoppedestal. In such instances, the remote control device may be orientedin a plurality of orientations, where for example, some of which may beat varying angles (e.g., at a 45° angle, 60° angle, etc.) with respectto the floor. The control unit of the remote control device may beconfigured to determine the orientation of the remote control device viaan orientation sensing circuit, for example, as described herein (e.g.,via an accelerometer, a multi-axis sensor, etc.). For example, thecontrol unit may be configured to detect that the remote control deviceis attached to the pedestal and then determine its orientation. Theorientation may be an orientation that would never occur in awall/switch installation (e.g., at a 45° angle). For example, when theremote control device is installed in a wall/switch installation, theremote control device (e.g., the front surface of the remote controldevice) may be oriented at approximately 90° angle with respect to thefloor (e.g., regardless of whether the “top” of the remote controldevice is facing up or down). When the remote control device is attachedto a pedestal, for example, the remote control device (e.g., the frontsurface of the remote control device) may be oriented at a differentangle with respect to the floor (e.g., at a 15° angle, a 30° angle, a45° angle, a 60° angle, a 75° angle, etc. with respect to the floor).Accordingly, the remote control device may be configured to be attachedto multiple surfaces and/or pedestals each characterized by differentmounting orientations (e.g., mounting angles), and be configured todetermine its orientation (e.g., with respect to the floor). An exampleof a tabletop pedestal for a remote control device is described ingreater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Patent Publication No.2011/0266122, published Nov. 3, 2011, entitled “Operating Buttons WithDisappearing Triangular Indicia,” the entire disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference.

In some examples, the control unit may be configured to determine theorientation of the device (e.g., and in turn the mounting condition),and be configured to change the functionality of the remote controldevice accordingly. For example, the remote control device may beconfigured to adjust its responses (e.g., control data) and/or feedbackfor one or more inputs based on the orientation of the remote controldevice. In this regards, the remote control device may be configured tooperate differently based on how or what the remote control device ismounted, for example, without requiring user configuration. For example,the remote control device may be configured to operate in a first mode(e.g., a wall-mount mode) to control a signal electrical load if thecontrol circuit determines that the remote control device is mounted ina first orientation (e.g., at a 90° angle, for example, on a wall orswitch), and be configured to operate in a second mode (e.g., a pedestalmode) to control multiple electrical loads (e.g., send a broadcastmessage) if the control circuit determines that the remote controldevice is mounted in a second orientation (e.g., at a 45° angle, forexample, on a tabletop pedestal).

FIG. 32 is a simplified schematic diagram of an example control unit 520for a remote control device (e.g., the control unit of the remotecontrol device 120 shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 230 of the remotecontrol device 200 shown in FIGS. 2-8, the control unit 320 of theremote control device 300 shown in FIGS. 9-21, the control unit of theremote control device 400 shown in FIGS. 22-31, etc.). The control unit520 may include a control circuit 530, one or more input devices 532, awireless communication circuit 534, a memory 536, a battery 538, one ormore LEDs 540, and an orientation sensing circuit 542. The orientationsensing circuit 542 may include any of the orientation sensing circuitsdescribed herein. The input devices 532 may include an actuator, arotating portion (e.g., a rotary knob), and/or a touch sensitive circuit(e.g., a capacitive touch circuit, for example, the capacitive touchcircuit 240), for example, as described herein. The input devices 532may be configured to translate a received user input (e.g., a forceapplied to the actuator(s), a force and/or time of user contact with thetouch sensitive surface, a rotational speed and/or direction of a rotaryknob, etc.) into input signals, and provide the input signals to thecontrol circuit 530.

The control circuit 530 may include one or more of a processor (e.g., amicroprocessor), a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), afield programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), or any suitable controller or processing device. Thecontrol circuit 530 may be operatively coupled to one or more componentsof the control unit 520. The control circuit 530 may be configured toreceive user inputs, generate control data, transmit control signalsthat include the control data, control the LEDs 540, etc. For example,the control circuit 530 may be configured to translate the input signalsreceived from the input devices 532 into control data for transmissionto one or more external electrical loads via the wireless communicationcircuit 534. The wireless communication circuit 534 may include atransmitter and/or receiver (e.g., a transceiver), such as a wireless RFtransceiver, and one or more antennas. The control circuit 530 may beconfigured to receive, among other things, pairing information, itsrelative orientation, feedback from one or more electrical loads via thewireless communication circuit 534, and/or inputs from one or moreremote input devices (e.g., the remote control device 130). The controlcircuit 530 may control the one or more of the LEDs 540 to illuminate toprovide feedback to the user. The LEDs 540 may be configured toilluminate a light bar and/or to serve as indicators of variousconditions.

The memory 536 may be configured to store one or more operatingparameters of the remote control device. The memory 536 may becommunicatively coupled to the control circuit 530 for the storageand/or retrieval of, for example, operational settings, such as, currentcontrol settings of one or more electrical loads, pairing and/oridentification of one or more electrical loads, the orientation of thecontrol unit 520, etc. The memory 536 may be implemented as an externalintegrated circuit (IC) or as an internal circuit of the control circuit530. The power supply 538 (e.g., a battery) may store and supply adirect-current (DC) supply voltage Vcc for powering the control circuit530 and the other low-voltage circuitry of the remote control device.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of an example of an orientation detectionprocedure 600 that may be performed by a remote control device (e.g., bya control unit of the remote control device). For example, theorientation detection procedure 600 may be performed by any of theremote control devices described herein, such as the remote controldevice 100, 200, 300, or 400. The orientation detection procedure 600may begin at 602. At 602, the remote control device may wake up, forexample, from a low power state, such as a sleep state or an off state(e.g., one or more components of the control unit may be off or in alower battery consumption state). The remote control device may wake up,for example, after receiving a user input via an input device, receivinga signal via a wireless communication circuit, and/or the like. At 604,the remote control device may check its orientation. For example, thecontrol unit and/or actuation portion of the remote control device maybe configured to determine its orientation, for example, with respect toa mounting structure of the remote control device (e.g., a base portion)and/or in response to an orientation sensing circuit, for example, asdescribed herein.

At 606, the remote control device determines whether its orientation haschanged since it was last awake. For example, the remote control devicemay determine whether its current orientation matches with theorientation it has saved in memory. If the remote control devicedetermines that its orientation did not change at 606, then the remotecontrol device may exit the orientation detection procedure 600 at 610.If the remote control device determines that its orientation did changeat 606 (e.g., or is being set for the first time), then the remotecontrol device may configure itself to its current orientation at 608.For example, the remote control device may translate a user inputreceived via a user interface of the remote control device into controldata for controlling for one or more electrical loads based on theorientation of the remote control device, and/or the remote controldevice may provide an indication (e.g., a visual indication) of anamount of power delivered to the electrical load by the remote controldevice based on the orientation of the remote control device.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of an example of an orientation user interfacemapping procedure 700 that may be performed by a remote control device(e.g., by a control unit of the remote control device). For example, theorientation user interface mapping procedure 700 may be performed by anyof the remote control devices described herein, such as the remotecontrol device 100, 200, 300, or 400. The orientation user interfacemapping procedure 700 may start at 702. At 704, the remote controldevice may receive a user input, for example, as described herein. Forexample, the remote control device may receive a user input via a touchsensitive circuit (e.g., a gesture via a capacitive touch circuit), anactuation of an actuator, a rotation of a rotary knob, etc.

At 706, the remote control device may determine its orientation. Forexample, the control unit and/or actuation portion of the remote controldevice may be configured to determine its orientation, for example, withrespect to a mounting structure of the remote control device (e.g., abase portion) and/or in response to an orientation sensing circuit, forexample, as described herein. The remote control device may determineits orientation by determining its orientation via an orientationsensing circuit or by retrieving it from memory.

At 708, the remote control device may determine whether its orientationis the first orientation. If the remote control device determines thatits orientation is the first orientation at 708, then the remote controldevice may set its user interface mapping (e.g., an association of itsvisual indicators (e.g., LEDs)) to the first orientation. For example,the remote control device may determine which location of the LEDs(e.g., end of the array of LEDs) corresponds to a high-end intensity andwhich location of the LEDs corresponds to a low-end intensity, forexample, when displaying an indication of the amount of power deliveredto an electrical load. In this regard, the remote control device mayensure proper indication of the high-end and low-end intensities via theLEDs regardless of whether the remote control device is in the firstorientation or the second orientation. Similarly, if the remote controldevice determines that its orientation is the second orientation at 708,then the remote control device may set its user interface mapping (e.g.,an association of its visual indicators (e.g., LEDs)) to the secondorientation.

After setting its user interface mapping to the first or secondorientation, the remote control device may process the user inputreceived at 704 according to the set user interface mapping at 714. Forexample, the remote control device may determine whether the user inputis an on or off command, a raise or lower command, etc. based on theuser interface mapping and generate control data accordingly. The remotecontrol device may then send one or more control signals that includethe control data to the electrical load for controlling the electricalload. Thereafter, the remote control device may exit the orientationuser interface mapping procedure 700 at 716. Although described withreference to two orientations (a first orientation and a secondorientation), it should be appreciated that the orientation userinterface mapping procedure 700 may include a plurality of orientationto associated user interface mappings.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of an example of an orientation detectionprocedure 800 that may be performed by a remote control device (e.g., bya control unit of the remote control device). For example, theorientation detection procedure 800 may be performed by any of theremote control devices described herein, such as the remote controldevice 100, 200, 300, or 400. The orientation detection procedure 800may begin at 802. At 804, the remote control device may receive a userinput via an input device of the remote control device and/or receive auser input via a communication circuit of the remote control device froman external device (e.g., a smart phone or tablet, another remotecontrol device, a system controller, etc.). At 806, the remote controldevice may determine whether the user input corresponds to an advancedorientation mode. If the remote control device determines that the userinput does not correspond to the advanced orientation mode at 806, thenthe remote control device may exit the orientation detection procedure800 at 812 (e.g., and, for example, process the user input according toan orientation user interface mapping procedure, such as the orientationuser interface mapping procedure 700).

If the remote control device determines that the user input doescorrespond to the advanced orientation mode at 806, then the remotecontrol device may enter the advanced orientation mode. The associationof user input to the advanced orientation mode may be stored in memoryof the remote control device. The user input may, for example, be aspecific actuation of an actuator of the remote control device (e.g., atriple tap of the bottom actuator), a specific gesture as determined bya touch sensitive surface of the remote control device, a specificrotation of a rotary knob of the remote control device, etc.

At 808, the remote control device may receive an input relating to theorientation of the remote control device. The orientation of the remotecontrol device may refer to the orientation of the control unit and/oractuation portion of the remote control device with respect to amounting structure of the remote control device (e.g., a base portion),for example, as described herein. The remote control device may receivethe orientation input via an input device of the remote control deviceand/or via a communication circuit of the remote control device from anexternal device (e.g., a smart phone or tablet, another remote controldevice, a system controller, etc.). In some examples, the orientationinput may also be used by the remote control device to pair the remotecontrol device with one or more electrical loads. Moreover, it should benoted that in some instances the user input received at 804 may be usedto enter the advanced orientation mode and as an indication of theorientation of the remote control device. In such instances, the remotecontrol device does not receive another orientation specific input.

At 810, the remote control device may set its orientation based on theorientation input. For example, the remote control device may set itscontrol data mapping and/or user interface mapping based on theorientation of the remote control device. In that regards, the remotecontrol device may translate a user input received via a user interfaceof the remote control device into control data for one or moreelectrical loads based on the orientation of the remote control device,and/or the remote control device may provide an indication (e.g., avisual indication) of an amount of power delivered to the electricalload by the remote control device based on the orientation of the remotecontrol device, for example, as described herein. Thereafter, the remotecontrol device may transmit control signals that include the controldata to the one or more electrical loads.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart of an example of an orientation detectionprocedure 900 that may be performed by a remote control device (e.g., bya control unit of the remote control device) and an external device(e.g., via a mobile application residing on the external device). Forexample, the orientation detection procedure 900 may be performed by anyof the remote control devices described herein, such as the remotecontrol device 100, 200, 300, or 400. The external device may, forexample, be a smartphone, tablet, other mobile device, and/or the like.The orientation detection procedure 900 may begin at 902. At 904, a usermay open a mobile application associated with the remote control deviceon an external device, such as a smartphone or tablet, for example.

At 906, the mobile application may monitor the remote control deviceusing a camera of the external device. For example, the mobileapplication may access the camera to record or take a picture of theremote control device. The remote control device may be configured toreceive an initiation message from the mobile application or via a userinput device of the remote control device that configures the remotecontrol device to illuminate one or more visual indicators (e.g., LEDs)in a unique sequence or pattern. It should be appreciated that theillumination of the visual indicators may be done at a rate that isimperceptible to the human eye. In some instances, the remote controldevice may illuminate the visual indicators in a pattern (e.g., genericpattern) associated associating the remote control device to the controlsystem, and in between the illuminations of the pattern, the remotecontrol device may flash (e.g., at a higher rate) a unique sequence orpattern. The unique sequence or pattern of the visual indicators may beassociated with a unique identifier of the remote control device (e.g.,a serial number of the remote control device) and/or an orientation ofthe remote control device. For example, the mobile application may beconfigured to determine which LEDs are illuminating (e.g., top orbottom, left or right, etc.) to determine the orientation of the remotecontrol device, and/or may be configured to interpret the uniquesequence or pattern of the blinking of the LEDs to determine the uniqueidentifier of the remote control device (e.g., short blinks=0, longblinks=1).

At 908, the mobile application may determine the unique identifierand/or orientation of the remote control device by recording the visualindicators of the remote control device using the camera of the externaldevice. At 910, the mobile application may determine whether the remotecontrol device is paired with the load control system using the uniqueidentifier of the remote control device. If the mobile applicationdetermines that the remote control device is not paired with the loadcontrol system at 910, then the mobile application may pair the remotecontrol device with the load control system at 912. For example, themobile application may generate a registration message to pair theremote control device. Further, the mobile application may send adigital message to a system controller and/or one or more electricalloads of the load control system to pair the remote control device.

If the mobile application determines that the remote control device isnot paired with the load control system at 910 and/or if the mobileapplication pairs the remote control device to the load control systemat 912, the mobile application may determine the orientation of theremote control device at 914 using the camera. For example, the mobileapplication may determine orientation of the remote control device byrecording the visual indicators of the remote control device using thecamera of the external device, and determining the orientation of theremote control device based on sequence or pattern that the visualindicators were illuminated.

At 916, the mobile application may transmit a digital message to theremote control device that includes the registration information neededto pair the remote control device and/or the orientation of the remotecontrol device. The remote control device may receive the digitalmessage and finalize the pairing process (e.g., save the addresses ofthe electrical loads, register itself with the load control system,etc.) and/or set its orientation. In this regards and as noted above,the remote control device may translate a user input received via a userinterface of the remote control device into control data for one or moreelectrical loads based on the orientation of the remote control device,and/or the remote control device may provide an indication (e.g., avisual indication) of an amount of power delivered to the electricalload by the remote control device based on the orientation of the remotecontrol device, for example, as described herein. Moreover, once paired,the remote control device may be configured to transmit control signalsthat include the control data used to control one or more electricalloads of the load control system.

FIG. 37A-C are views of an example control device 1000. The controldevice 1000 may include a front surface 1000 that includes one or moreinput devices 1012, such as those described herein (e.g., a rotationalsensing circuit, one or more actuators, a touch sensitive device, etc.).The control device 1000 may include a plug 1030 that is configured to beplugged into a standard electrical outlet. The control device 1000 mayinclude one or more receptacles 1020A-B that are configured to receiveplugs from one or more electrical loads. The control device 1000 may beconfigured to deliver power from an AC power source (via the plug 1030)to the one or more electrical loads (via the receptacles 1020A-B) tocontrol the one or more electrical loads, for example, based on userinputs received via the input device 1012.

Further, although illustrated with the receptacles 1020A-B and the plug1030, it should be appreciated that the control device 1000 may beimplemented as a standard wall-switch (e.g., a dimmer) that isconfigured to be mounted in a standard electrical wall-box. In suchimplementations, the control device 1000 may be configured to receive ACline voltage and be electrically connected to one or more electricalloads (e.g., lighting loads).

The control device 1000 may include an orientation sensing circuit (notshown), for example, as described herein with reference to FIGS. 1-32(e.g., the orientation sensing circuit 542). As such, the control device1000 may determine the orientation of the control device 1000, forexample, relative to the space where it is installed (e.g., based ongravity) and/or its orientation relative to another component such as amounting structure, etc. Further, the control device 1000 may beconfigured to perform the orientation detection procedure 600, theorientation user interface mapping procedure 700, the orientationdetection procedure 800, and/or the orientation detection procedure 900.The control device 1000 may be configured to control an internal loadcontrol circuit (e.g., a drive circuit, a controllably conductivedevice, and/or the like) based on the orientation of the control device1000. Additionally or alternatively, the control device 1000 may beconfigured to control visual indicators and/or the control data that istransmitted via control signals by a wireless communication circuitbased on its determined orientation, for example, as described herein.For instance, the control device 1000 may determine how to control thecontrollable conductive device to control the amount of power deliveredto one or more electrical loads based on its orientation (e.g., insteadof and/or in addition to being able to adjust control data and/orfeedback based on its orientation). Accordingly, the control device 1000may be similar to the remote control devices described herein, exceptthe control device 1000 may be able to also control an internal loadcontrol circuit in response to its determined orientation to, forexample, control an electrical load that is directed connected to theload control device.

FIG. 38 is a simplified equivalent schematic diagram of an examplecontrol device 1100 (e.g., a dimmer switch) that may be deployed as, forexample, the control device 1000. The control device 1100 may beconfigured to perform any of the functions described with reference tothe remote control devices described herein. Moreover, the controldevice 1100 may be configured to control an internal load controlcircuit (e.g., a drive circuit, a controllably conductive device, and/orthe like) to control an electrical load that is connected to the loadcontrol device (e.g., electrically connected via wiring).

An AC power source 1102 may be coupled between a hot terminal H and aneutral terminal N of the control device 1100. An electrical load, suchas a lighting load 1104, may be coupled between a dimmed hot terminal DHand a second neutral terminal N of the control device 1100. For example,the lighting load 1104 may be a table lamp plugged into a receptacleincluding the dimmed hot DH and the second neutral terminal N. Thecontrol device 1100 may include a controllably conductive device 1110coupled in series electrical connection between the AC power source 1102and the lighting load 1104 between the hot terminal H and the dimmed hotterminal DH. The controllably conductive device 1110 may control thepower delivered to the lighting load 1104. The controllably conductivedevice 1110 may include a suitable type of bidirectional semiconductorswitch, such as, for example, a triac, a field-effect transistor (FET)in a rectifier bridge, two FETs in anti-series connection, or one ormore insulated-gate bipolar junction transistors (IGBTs).

The control device 1100 may include a control circuit 1114. The controlcircuit 1114 may include one or more of a processor (e.g., amicroprocessor), a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), afield programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), or any suitable controller or processing device. Thecontrol circuit 1114 may be operatively coupled to a control input ofthe controllably conductive device 1110, for example, via a gate drivecircuit 1112. The control circuit 1114 may be used for rendering thecontrollably conductive device 1110 conductive or non-conductive, forexample, to control the amount of power delivered to the lighting load1104.

The control circuit 1114 may receive a signal representative of thezero-crossing points of the AC main line voltage of the AC power source1102 from a zero-crossing detector 1116, which may be coupled betweenthe hot terminal H and the neutral terminal N of the control device1100. The control circuit 1114 may be operable to render thecontrollably conductive device 1110 conductive and/or non-conductive atpredetermined times relative to the zero-crossing points of the ACwaveform using a phase-control dimming technique. Examples of dimmersare described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No.7,242,150, issued Jul. 10, 2007, entitled Dimmer Having a Power SupplyMonitoring Circuit; U.S. Pat. No. 7,546,473, issued Jun. 9, 2009,entitled Dimmer having a microprocessor-controlled power supply; andU.S. Pat. No. 8,664,881, issued Mar. 4, 2014, entitled Two-wire dimmerswitch for low-power loads, the entire disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

The control device 1100 may include a memory 1118. The memory 1118 maybe communicatively coupled to the control circuit 1114 for the storageand/or retrieval of, for example, operational settings, such as,lighting presets and associated preset light intensities. The memory1118 may be implemented as an external integrated circuit (IC) or as aninternal circuit of the control circuit 1114. The control device 1100may include a power supply 1120, which may be coupled between the hotterminal H and the neutral terminal N of the control device 1100. Thepower supply 1120 may generate a direct-current (DC) supply voltage Vccfor powering the control circuit 1114 and the other low-voltagecircuitry of the control device 1100. The power supply 1120 may becoupled in parallel with the controllably conductive device 1110. Thepower supply 1120 may be operable to conduct a charging current throughthe lighting load 1104 to generate the DC supply voltage Vcc.

The control circuit 1114 may be responsive to inputs received fromactuators 1130, a rotational position sensing circuit 1140, and/or atouch sensitive device 1150. The control circuit 1114 may control thecontrollably conductive device 1110 to adjust the intensity of thelighting load 1104 in response to the input received via the actuators1130, the rotational position sensing circuit 1140, and/or the touchsensitive device 1150.

The rotational sensing circuit 1140 may be configured to translate aforce applied to a rotating mechanism (e.g., such as the rotatingportion 322 of the remote control device 300) into an input signal andprovide the input signal to the control circuit 1114. The rotationalsensing circuit 1140 may include, for example, a Hall-effect sensor, amechanical encoder, and/or an optical encoder. The rotational sensingcircuit 1140 may also operate as an antenna of the control device 1100.The one or more actuators 1130 may include a button or switch (e.g., amechanical button or switch, or an imitation thereof), for example, suchas those described in association with the actuators of the remotecontrol device 130 and the actuator 411 of the remote control device400. The actuators 1130 may be configured to send respective inputsignals to the control circuit 1114 in response to actuations of theactuators 1130 (e.g., in response to movements of the actuators 1130).The touch sensitive circuit 1150 may include a capacitive or resistivetouch element. Examples of such a touch sensitive circuit may includethe touch sensitive circuits described with reference to the remotecontrol devices 200, 300, and 400. The touch sensitive circuit 1150 maybe configured to detect point actuations and/or gestures (e.g., thegestures may be effectuated with or without physical contacts with thetouch sensitive device 1150), and provide respective input signals tothe control circuit 1114 indicating the detection.

It should be noted that, although depicted as including all of therotational sensing circuit 1140, the actuators 1130, and the touchsensitive device 1150, the control device 1100 may include anycombination of the foregoing components (e.g., one or more of thosecomponents) and/or any input device, for example, those describedherein.

The control device 1100 may comprise a wireless communication circuit1122. The wireless communication circuit 1122 may include for example, aradio-frequency (RF) transceiver coupled to an antenna for transmittingand/or receiving RF signals. The wireless communication circuit 1122 mayalso include an RF transmitter for transmitting RF signals, an RFreceiver for receiving RF signals, or an infrared (IR) transmitterand/or receiver for transmitting and/or receiving IR signals. Thewireless communication circuit 1122 may be configured to transmit acontrol signal (e.g., a digital message) generated by the controlcircuit 1114 to the lighting load 1104. As described herein, the controlsignal may be generated in response to a user input (e.g., a pointactuation or a gesture) to adjust one or more operational aspects of thelighting load 1104. The control signal may include control data (e.g., acommand) and/or identification information (e.g., such as a uniqueidentifier) associated with the control device 1100. In addition to orin lieu of transmitting the control signal to the lighting load 1104,the wireless communication circuit 1122 may be controlled to transmitthe control signal to a central controller of the lighting controlsystem.

The control circuit 1114 may be configured to illuminate visualindicators 1160 (e.g., LEDs) to provide feedback of a status of thelighting load 1104, to indicate a status of the control device 1100,and/or to assist with a control operation (e.g., to provide a colorgradient for controlling the color of the lighting load 1104, to presentbacklit virtual buttons for preset selection, etc.). The visualindicators 1160 may be configured to illuminate a light bar and/or toserve as indicators of various conditions.

The control device 1100 may also include an orientation sensing circuit1170, for example, as described herein with reference to FIGS. 1-32(e.g., the orientation sensing circuit 542). As such, the control device1100 may determine the orientation of the load control device, forexample, relative to the space where it is installed (e.g., based ongravity) and/or its orientation relative to another component such as amounting structure, etc. Further, the control device 1100 may beconfigured to perform the orientation detection procedure 600, theorientation user interface mapping procedure 700, the orientationdetection procedure 800, and/or the orientation detection procedure 900.The control device 1100 may be configured to control an internal loadcontrol circuit (e.g., the drive circuit 1112, the controllablyconductive device 1110, and/or the like) based on the orientation of thecontrol device 1100. Additionally or alternatively, the control device1100 may be configured to control the visual indicators 1160 and/or thecontrol data that is transmitted via control signals by the wirelesscommunication circuit 1122 based on its determined orientation, forexample, as described herein. For instance, the control device 1100 maydetermine how to control the controllable conductive device to controlthe amount of power delivered to the lighting load 1104 based on itsorientation (e.g., instead of and/or in addition to being able to adjustcontrol data and/or feedback based on its orientation). Accordingly, thecontrol device 1100 may be similar to the remote control devicesdescribed herein, except the control device 1100 may be able to alsocontrol an internal load control circuit in response to its determinedorientation.

1. A remote control device that is configured for use in a load controlsystem, the remote control device comprising: a mounting structure; anda control unit comprising a user interface, an orientation sensingcircuit, and a communication circuit, the control unit configured to beattached to the mounting structure in a plurality of orientations, thecontrol unit configured to: determine an orientation of the control unitvia the orientation sensing circuit; translate a user input from theuser interface into control data based on the orientation of the controlunit, the control data configured to control an electrical load of theload control system; and cause the communication circuit to transmit acontrol signal comprising the control data.
 2. The remote control deviceof claim 1, wherein the user interface is symmetric.
 3. The remotecontrol device of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured totranslate user inputs that correspond to on and off commands of theelectrical load to respective control data based on the orientation ofthe control unit.
 4. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein thecontrol unit is configured to translate user inputs that correspond toraise and lower commands of the electrical load to respective controldata based on the orientation of the control unit.
 5. The remote controldevice of claim 1, wherein the user interface is configured to provide,via visual indicators of the control unit, a visual indication of anamount of power delivered to the electrical load based on theorientation of the control unit.
 6. The remote control device of claim5, wherein the user interface is configured to emit an amount of lightthat corresponds to the amount of power delivered to the electrical loadbased on the orientation of the control unit.
 7. The remote controldevice of claim 5, wherein the user interface comprises a plurality oflight emitting diodes that are arranged in a linear array and that areconfigured to provide the visual indication based on the orientation ofthe control unit.
 8. (canceled)
 9. The remote control device of claim 5,wherein the user interface comprises a plurality of light emittingdiodes that are arranged as a light bar in an at least partiallycircular geometry, wherein the control unit is configured to illuminatethe light emitting diodes to provide the visual indication based on theorientation of the control unit. 10.-12. (canceled)
 13. The remotecontrol device of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured toautomatically determine the orientation of the control unit upon thecontrol unit being attached to the mounting structure.
 14. The remotecontrol device of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured todetermine the orientation of the control unit each time the control unitwakes up from an off or sleep state.
 15. The remote control device ofclaim 1, wherein the mounting structure comprises a conductive memberand the control unit comprises two contacts, wherein the conductivemember is configured to electrically short the two contacts when thecontrol unit is in a first orientation, and not configured to short thetwo contacts when the control unit is in a second orientation; and 16.The remote control device of claim 15, wherein the two contacts resideon a printed circuit board (PCB) of the control unit.
 17. The remotecontrol device of claim 1, further comprising: a faceplate that isconfigured to be attached to the mounting structure, the faceplatehaving an opening that is configured to receive at least a portion ofthe user interface and including a shorting member, wherein the controlunit is configured to determine the orientation based on whether theshorting member is in electrical communication with the control unit.18. (canceled)
 19. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein theorientation sensing circuit comprises a switch that is configured to beclosed when the control unit is in a first orientation and open when thecontrol unit is in a second orientation.
 20. The remote control deviceof claim 19, wherein the switch comprises an electrical contact pad thatis configured to be in electrical communication with a shorting memberof a faceplate when the control unit is in a first orientation and notin electrical communication with the shorting member of the faceplatewhen the control unit is in a second orientation.
 21. The remote controldevice of claim 19, wherein the mounting structure comprises aprotrusion and the switch comprises a tactile switch, and wherein theprotrusion is configured to actuate the tactile switch when the controlunit is attached to the mounting structure in the first orientation, butnot actuate the tactile switch when the control unit is attached to themounting structure in the second orientation.
 22. The remote controldevice of claim 19, wherein the switch comprises one of a gravity switchand a mercury switch.
 23. (canceled)
 24. The remote control device ofclaim 1, wherein the orientation sensing circuit comprises a ball and alight emitting diode (LED) sensor, wherein the ball is configured toblock the LED sensor when the control unit is in a first orientation andnot block the LED sensor when the control unit is in a secondorientation.
 25. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein theorientation sensing circuit comprises an optocoupler that comprises aninfra-red (IR) light emitting diode (LED) and a photodiode, and whereinthe control unit is configured to determine the orientation of thecontrol unit based on feedback from the optocoupler.
 26. The remotecontrol device of claim 1, wherein the orientation sensing circuitcomprises an inductive sensor configured to detect a presence of metalon the control unit or mounting structure when the control unit isattached to the mounting structure in a first orientation, but notdetect the presence of metal on the control unit when the control unitis attached to the mounting structure in a second orientation.
 27. Theremote control device of claim 1, wherein the orientation sensingcircuit comprises a photodiode, and wherein the mounting structurecomprises a notch or channel that is configured to line up with thephotodiode when the control unit is in a first orientation and not lineup with the photodiode when the control unit is in a second orientation.28. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the mounting structurecomprises a magnet and the orientation sensing circuit comprises ahall-effect sensor circuit, and wherein the magnet and hall-effectsensor circuit are aligned when the control unit is in a firstorientation and not aligned when the control unit is in a secondorientation.
 29. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein theorientation sensing circuit comprises a switch that is configured to bemanually operated to indicate the orientation of the control unit. 30.The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the orientation sensingcircuit comprises one of an accelerometer and a gyroscope, and whereinthe control unit is configured to determine the orientation of thecontrol unit based on feedback from one of the accelerometer and thegyroscope.
 31. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the controlunit is configured to receive the orientation during a configurationmode of the control unit.
 32. The remote control device of claim 31,wherein the control unit is placed into the configuration mode via aunique user input via the user interface.
 33. The remote control deviceof claim 31, wherein the control unit is placed into the configurationmode via an external device.
 34. The remote control device of claim 31,wherein the control unit is configured to receive the orientation viathe communication circuit during the configuration mode.
 35. The remotecontrol device of claim 31, wherein the remote control device is pairedwith an electrical load of the load control system during theconfiguration mode.
 36. The remote control device of claim 31, whereinthe control unit is configured to receive the orientation of the controlunit from an external device via the communication circuit, the externaldevice configured to determine the orientation of the control unit usinga camera of the external device.
 37. The remote control device of claim36, wherein the control unit is configured to illuminate light sourcesof the control unit in a unique pattern to communicate the orientationof the control unit. 38.-40. (canceled)
 41. The remote control device ofclaim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to be attachedto the mounting structure in at least a first orientation and a secondorientation.
 42. (canceled)
 43. The remote control device of claim 1,wherein the mounting structure is configured to be attached to a loadcontrol device that is configured to control an amount of powerdelivered to the electrical load that is electrically connected to theload control device. 44.-62. (canceled)
 63. A remote control device thatis configured for use in a load control system, the remote controldevice comprising: a mounting structure; and a control unit comprising auser interface, an orientation sensing circuit, and a communicationcircuit, the user interface comprising a plurality of light sources,wherein the control unit is configured to be attached to the mountingstructure in a plurality of orientations, and the control unitconfigured to: determine an orientation of the control unit via theorientation sensing circuit; and control the plurality of light sourcesbased on the orientation of the control unit to provide a visualindication of an amount of power delivered to an electrical load of theload control system.
 64. The remote control device of claim 63, whereinthe control unit is configured to control the plurality of light sourcesto emit an amount of light that corresponds to the amount of powerdelivered to the electrical load based on the orientation of the controlunit.
 65. The remote control device of claim 63, wherein the pluralityof light sources comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes that arearranged in a linear array.
 66. The remote control device of claim 65,wherein the array of light emitting diodes defines a first end of thevisual indication that corresponds to a high-end amount of power and anopposed second end of the visual indication that corresponds to alow-end amount of power; and wherein the control unit is furtherconfigured to determine the relative locations of the first and secondends of the visual indication based on the orientation of the controlunit.
 67. The remote control device of claim 63, wherein the pluralityof light sources comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs)that are arranged as a light bar in an at least partially circulargeometry.
 68. The remote control device of claim 67, wherein the lightbar defines a starting point of the visual indication that correspondsto low-end amount of power and an ending point of the visual indicationthat corresponds to a high-end amount of power; and wherein the controlunit is further configured to determine the relative locations of thestarting point and ending point of the visual indication based on theorientation of the control unit.
 69. The remote control device of claim68, wherein the starting point and the ending point are the samelocation or adjacent locations on the light bar.
 70. (canceled)